The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and KfW Development Bank today inaugurated the Basic Health Unit (BHU) Improvement Programme in Chamkani, Peshawar.
Under the project, seven basic health units will be refurbished and receive new labour, recovery and waiting rooms, new medical equipment,and improved water and sanitation services. The doctor’s residence and staff quarters will also be refurbished at each facility.
UNHCR’s Deputy Representative Mr. Khassim Diagne and Mr. Friedel Eggelmeyer, Director General in-charge for European, by and multilateral development policy at the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, opened the project which will help 96,500 people. The scheme in Chamkani, implemented by Wish International is one of the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) projects being implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony in Peshawar, Mr. Friedel Eggelmeyer said that the RAHA programme would contribute to better social and economic living conditions of refugee affected areas as well as the population in the hosting areas.
“Germany supports this initiative since it contributes significantly to balanced and equal access of the population to social infrastructure in these areas,” he added.
“The RAHA programme recognizes the long tradition of hospitality in Pakistan towards Afghan refugees by boosting essential services in areas where refugees live, helping Pakistanis and Afghan refugees alike,” UNHCR’s Diagne said.
The projects focuses on improving water supply and sanitation facilities, boosting education and medical facilities, and educating Pakistani and local Afghan communities on clean hygiene practices.
RAHA is a joint initiative between Pakistan’s Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and Economic Affairs Division (EAD), UNHCR, UNDP and other UN agencies and NGOs.
Pakistan has been the world’s largest refugee hosting nation in the world, currently hosting some 1.6 million registered Afghans on its soil.
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