SAFRON-UNHCR Establishes 50 Community Based Skills Training Centres

Umer Jamshaid Published August 18, 2016 | 02:06 PM

ISLAMABAD,(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Augst,2016) : Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) have established around 50 community based skills training centres in four districts of the country. An official source of the UNHCR told APP here on Thursday that all these centre were established through the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) programme to train the youth in different skills.

He said that some 1,000 beneficiaries including 727 Pakistanis and 273 Afghan refugees were given skills training, while United States and Germany were funded Rs.50.8 millions. They were provided marketing/business development training sessions to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and developed market linkages through exposure visits, he added.

RAHA is a programme that recognizes Pakistan's longstanding hospitality towards refugees. The initiative is aimed at supporting host communities and providing them with quality services in the sectors of health, education, water and sanitation and livelihoods across the country.

He said that more than 10.6 million people (11 percent Afghan refugees and 89 percent Pakistani citizens) have benefitted from some 3,500 projects implemented across the country with a total cost of approximately USD 175 million.