Southern African countries urged to implement programmes to improve wellbeing of refugees

The Global Refugee Forum (GRF) has called on the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states to start implementing appropriate interventions to improve, protect, and preserve the health and well-being of refugees and migrants.

The forum also requested SADC member states to identify emerging key areas, multi-stakeholder initiatives championed by governments and other players on refugees and migrants.

This is according to a statement issued on Wednesday in Lusaka by Tamara Nyirenda, the First Secretary Press and Public Relations at the Zambian High Commission to South Africa.

Zambia was among 13 countries that participated at the Regional Consultative Global Refugee Forum Conference which was held in Pretoria South Africa last week.

The GRF also wants SADC member states to make proposals for potential regional pledges as well as rethink on how best to actualise the pledges made.

The just ended GRF Consultative Meeting held in Pretoria, South Africa helped participants discuss the progress, positive outcomes, highlight challenges faced and the way forward on refugee and migrants.

Zambia’s Deputy Commissioner for refugees, Besa Chibwe, said the Conference provided a learning platform where Zambia has picked valuable lessons relating to how to deal with various issues of refugees, which is not only a regional but global problem.

She said the meeting accorded a chance to SADC countries to take stock of the implementation of the progress made on pledges which countries made at the Global Refugee Forum in 2019.

“Zambia made seven pledges and has endeavoured to implement all of them. The meeting gave an opportunity to participants to announce new pledges, share good practices, responsibility-sharing, and taking stock of the challenges and opportunities ahead,” Chibwe said.

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Zambia Comprehensive Refugee Response Officer, Maybin Nsupila, said the purpose of the meeting was to outline policy decisions and the implementation of appropriate interventions to improve, protect, and preserve the health and well-being of refugees and migrants.

Zambia’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa,Inonge Mwenya, said the meeting was important to all key players to share knowledge, experience, and initiate conversations that border on refugees, contributions which are key to transforming the aspirations of the refugees.

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