UN Releases Online Version of Support Program for Those Affected by Artsakh Conflict

The UN office in Armenia, under the leadership of Permanent Coordinator Shombi Sharp and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in collaboration with partner NGOs, has published the Inter-Agency Response Program for Armenia. The program has been previously presented to the Government and the donor community.

The response program, which complements the Government’s support initiatives, will operate until June 2021 and serves as a tool for coordination and protection. It outlines humanitarian assistance priorities, ongoing projects, and calls for new funding needed to address the needs of approximately 90,000 people who have taken refuge in Armenia and the communities hosting them.

The response plan includes 36 humanitarian partners and has a total financial requirement of $62.6 million across 188 projects aimed at providing necessary assistance in six key sectors (protection, including child protection, education, shelter and non-food items, food security and nutrition, health, and early recovery).

“Since the very first day of the conflict, the UN office in Armenia, alongside its partners, has been diligently working to meet the primary needs of persons displaced from their homes, and this program presents an even greater opportunity for support and solidarity by enhancing the engagement of humanitarian donors,” noted the UN’s Permanent Coordinator in Armenia, Shombi Sharp, during the presentation of the Inter-Agency Response Program.

Representatives of the Government, including partner ministries, highly valued the collaboration with the UN, international community, and NGOs around crisis response and emphasized the role of the Response Program in further expanding partnerships.

“While the conflict has ended, those who have refugee status in Armenia urgently need humanitarian support, which is further exacerbated by winter. The program is our joint effort to support these individuals both immediately and in the medium term. It also considers the host communities that have warmly welcomed those who arrived,” added Anna-Karin Ost, representative of the UN Refugee Agency in Armenia.

To ensure an effective connection between humanitarian assistance and development programs, the response program has been developed in line with the COVID-19 socio-economic response and recovery plan and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, which will present the priorities of UN cooperation with Armenia from 2021 to 2025.

The program aims to expand the support already provided by the UN office in Armenia and humanitarian and development partners, which has significantly impacted addressing various urgent needs of those displaced since the very beginning of the conflict.

From October to December 2020, UN agencies and partners provided 33,330 non-food items, including bedding, towels, hygiene supplies, and household items, 1,000 folding beds, and covered utility costs for 64 facilities that served as shelters. Support has been extended to 11,500 school-aged children currently receiving secondary education in Armenia. In addition, among a range of other measures, hundreds of tons of food assistance are provided each month to approximately 18,000 people.

***You can learn about the Inter-Agency Response Program for Armenia here. Information regarding the support provided by the UN since the onset of the renewed conflict can be found here. Detailed and continuously updated information about the humanitarian response of UN agencies and partners can be obtained from the Armenia Response Platform.