According to a report titled “Afghanistan situation: Emergency preparedness and Response in Iran” published on July 18, the 2022 Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the Afghanistan situation reveals that over 822,546 persons have been internally displaced in Afghanistan since the start of 2021, of which 20 percent are women and 60 percent are children.

As the number one destination for Afghan refugees, Iran has opened its arms to accept asylum seekers from its eastern neighbor.

According to evolving estimates by the Government of Iran, approximately 500,000 to 1 million Afghans came to Iran in 2021.

Some 40,714 Afghans who arrived in Iran from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2022 have approached UNHCR requesting assistance and protection.
Moreover, some 170,000 have now returned to their previous places of residence, as the security situation improves.

Arrivals have continued during 2022 due to further deterioration of the human rights and socioeconomic situation in Afghanistan.

Commendable services

As the number one destination for Afghan refugees, Iran alone, more than any other European or Western country in times of crisis, has opened its arms to accept asylum seekers from its eastern neighbor.

The number of Afghan immigrants living in Iran has exceeded four million. After entering Iran, Afghan immigrants had the highest presence in the provinces of Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, and Sistan-Baluchestan.

Maha Kashour, head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Mashhad, said in June that Iran’s efforts and activities in the last 40 years have been commendable to refugees, and in the past year, after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, has reached its peak.

Iran has so far been able to provide decent services to refugees in the fields of health, livelihood, and vocational training in cooperation with UNHCR, she noted.

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Iran’s universal public health insurance scheme, known as Salamat Health Insurance, covers hospitalization, para-clinical and outpatient services, including doctor’s visits, radiology, lab tests, and medication costs at any public hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Health.

It seems that 4 to 5 million foreign nationals are not under the coverage of any health insurance because they entered the country through unofficial bases, Jafar Rahimi, deputy director of the Health Insurance Organization, said.

Vulnerable refugees with the support of the UNHCR and Iran are insured free of charge. However, those who are financially able should pay their insurance premiums, he stated, IRINN reported on Thursday.

Over 2 trillion rials (nearly $7.5 million) have been spent to provide insurance to foreign nationals this year, he further concluded.

World’s fourth-largest refugee community

Iran is hosting the world’s fourth-largest refugee community. The country has generously hosted approximately 1 million refugees for the past 30 years. The majority, which mainly came from Afghanistan and Iraq, live in urban areas. Approximately 31,000 of the most vulnerable refugees are living in 20 settlements located throughout the country.

Based on the latest statistics, over 3 million Afghans are living in Iran – some 780,000 Afghan refugees, over 2 million undocumented Afghans, and another 600,000 Afghan passport-holders with Iranian visas.

The recent fast-paced turn of events in Afghanistan has the potential to create additional population movements; displacing families internally and potentially driving them to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

It is estimated that up to 300,000 Afghan asylum-seekers have fled to Iran this year alone in search of safety, while UNHCR has only been able to screen some 24,000 newly arrived Afghans for protection needs.

However, in light of the pandemic, all refugees, even those undocumented, benefited from access to free primary health services and free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like Iranian nationals.

The same happened for the vaccination when the country has generously considered refugees for vaccination against coronavirus.

In Iran, UNHCR is seeking $16.2 million for its COVID-19 emergency, while requires an additional $98.7 million to support Iran in maintaining and sustaining its commendable inclusive refugee policies, under the umbrella of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR).

António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has praised Iran’s generosity which – for decades – has hosted millions of Afghans in need.

“At this moment, we need the global community to put their hands on the wheel of progress, provide resources, and prevent Afghanistan from spiraling any further.

I will never forget the generosity of countries like Pakistan and Iran, which – for decades – have hosted millions of Afghans in need,” Guterres said in a statement released on January 26 to the Security Council on Afghanistan.

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Providing the vaccine to refugees living in Iran is a big deal for the government, he emphasized.

With the expansion of vaccination coverage, coronavirus mortality has declined to less than 100 in Iran and most provinces are out of the red (high-risk areas), he added, IRNA reported.

The vaccination program and health measures in Iran should be more complete and the situation should be better, he suggested.

The WHO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Iran, is studying the effectiveness of Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and COVIRAN vaccines.

About one million people in Iran have received the third dose of the vaccine and we are trying to help the Pastu Covac and COVIRAN to complete documentation and receive the World Health Organization quality certificate so that it can be exported to low-income countries in the region, like Africa, he explained.

Iran is one of the leading countries in West Asia for public vaccination coverage, as the country has registered a record 1.5 million doses of vaccines injected in one day, he concluded.

Iran has always been a major supporter of refugees and displaced persons, and the provision of services to asylum seekers for four consecutive decades is a testament to this.

Without any discrimination, Iran has provided various services to a large number of refugees and foreign immigrants in the fields of education, health, treatment, livelihood, vocational training, and employment, with minimal assistance from the international community.

World’s fourth-largest refugee community

Iran is hosting the world’s fourth-largest refugee community. The country has generously hosted approximately 1 million refugees for the past 30 years. The majority, which mainly came from Afghanistan and Iraq, live in urban areas. Approximately 31,000 of the most vulnerable refugees live in 20 settlements located throughout the country.

Based on the latest statistics, over 3 million Afghans are living in Iran – some 780,000 Afghan refugees, over 2 million undocumented Afghans, and another 600,000 Afghan passport-holders with Iranian visas.

However, in light of the pandemic, all refugees, even those undocumented, benefited from access to free primary health services and free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like Iranian nationals.

The same happened for the vaccination when the country has generously considered refugees over the age of 75 for vaccination against coronavirus.

In order to support the refugees living in the country, the seventh phase of the health insurance plan will cover 120,000 vulnerable refugees through a memorandum of understanding signed between the Health Insurance Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In Iran, UNHCR is seeking $16.2 million for its COVID-19 emergency, while requires an additional $98.7 million to support Iran in maintaining and sustaining its commendable inclusive refugee policies, under the umbrella of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR).

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Amid intensified clashes in Nimruz province in the country’s southwest, nearly two hundred Afghan refugees have been forced to flee to Iran over the weekend.

Many more Afghan civilians may find themselves trapped if they are unable to escape from the highly volatile situation. It is estimated that since the beginning of the year nearly 400,000 Afghans have been internally displaced within the country – some 244,000 since May alone.

Iran kept the Milak border crossing open in light of the intensifying humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Not doing so may put thousands of lives at risk.

In cooperation with Iran’s Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants’ Affairs (BAFIA), UNHCR has provided immediate assistance to new arrivals, including food and water.

UNHCR and partners have today joined an inter-agency mission led by the government to border areas and potential refugee sites, to further assess the humanitarian needs on the ground and scale up the response.

Together with other humanitarian actors, UNHCR is prepared to provide urgent assistance and support reception arrangements – including emergency shelter, latrines, and other core relief items. Hygiene packs, including soap and face masks, will also be distributed to help families arriving stay safe in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

With almost one million Afghan refugee card holders already in the country, the Government of Iran has consistently welcomed Afghans fleeing protracted conflict and violence for over forty years, including through exemplary inclusion of Afghans in national health and education systems. UNHCR appeals to the government to continue this tradition of hospitality and lifesaving protection.

No large-scale displacement across borders from Afghanistan has been observed this year. Any major influx would clearly require the international community to step up immediate and sustained support to both Afghanistan and its neighbors, in a spirit of responsibility- and burden-sharing.

Iran hosting world’s fourth-largest refugee community

Iran is hosting the world’s fourth-largest refugee community. The country has generously hosted approximately 1 million refugees for the past 30 years. The majority, which mainly came from Afghanistan and Iraq, live in urban areas. Approximately 31,000 of the most vulnerable refugees living in 20 settlements located throughout the country.

Based on the latest statistics, over 3 million Afghans are living in Iran – some 780,000 Afghan refugees, over 2 million undocumented Afghans, and another 600,000 Afghan passport-holders with Iranian visas.

However, in light of the pandemic, all refugees, even those undocumented, benefited from access to free primary health services and free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like Iranian nationals.

The same happened for the vaccination when the country has generously considered refugees over the age of 75 for vaccination against coronavirus.

In order to support the refugees living in the country, the seventh phase of the health insurance plan will cover 120,000 vulnerable refugees through a memorandum of understanding signed between the Health Insurance Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In Iran, UNHCR is seeking $16.2 million for its COVID-19 emergency, while requires an additional $98.7 million to support Iran in maintaining and sustaining its commendable inclusive refugee policies, under the umbrella of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR).

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A virtual meeting was held on Wednesday attended by Iranian officials, representatives of UN offices, and embassies in Tehran with the aim of providing vaccines for refugees and foreign immigrants.

Given the security problem in Afghanistan, we need to be more prepared in case of facing a number of refugees entering the country, Mehdi Mahmoudi, director of Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry of Interior said.

Over the past 42 years, Iran hosted millions of refugees, especially Afghan nationals, with the least foreign aid and at the highest level of international standards, while adhering to ethical and humanitarian principles and international commitments, he said.

Despite many political and economic problems such as imposed war, imposition of cruel sanctions, and relying on its limited national and domestic resources in various sectors such as health, education, Iran has provided livelihood and vocational services to the refugees just like Iranians, he explained.

Referring to the humanitarian actions of the Islamic Republic since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he called on the international community to take immediate action to provide and expedite the delivery of vaccines for refugees.

Iran has been used as a gateway for the influx of illegal immigrants to European countries, which due to the inability and readiness of the Islamic Republic to accept new refugees, we need the support of Afghanistan and the international community, especially the European Union, in order to improve the security factor and control the eastern borders to combat this phenomenon, he explained.

Iran hosting world’s fourth-largest refugee community

Iran is hosting the world’s fourth-largest refugee community. The country has generously hosted approximately 1 million refugees for the past 30 years. The majority, which mainly came from Afghanistan and Iraq, live in urban areas. Approximately 31,000 of the most vulnerable refugees living in 20 settlements located throughout the country.

Based on the latest statistics, over 3 million Afghans are living in Iran – some 780,000 Afghan refugees, over 2 million undocumented Afghans, and another 600,000 Afghan passport-holders with Iranian visas.

However, in light of the pandemic, all refugees, even those undocumented, benefited from access to free primary health services and free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like Iranian nationals.

The same happened for the vaccination when the country has generously considered refugees over the age of 75 for vaccination against coronavirus.

In order to support the refugees living in the country, the seventh phase of the health insurance plan will cover 120,000 vulnerable refugees through a memorandum of understanding signed between the Health Insurance Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In Iran, UNHCR is seeking $16.2 million for its COVID-19 emergency, while requires an additional $98.7 million to support Iran in maintaining and sustaining its commendable inclusive refugee policies, under the umbrella of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR).

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“The necessary infrastructure and capacities are available to vaccinate refugees and patients of rare diseases, but we urgently need more vaccines,” Mansoureh Bagheri, deputy head of IRCS for International Affairs and Humanitarian Law, stated.

“Due to the sanctions, we are in a difficult situation and we are facing challenges in transferring funds, as well as providing medicine and medical equipment, especially during the epidemic.

In fact, economic sanctions are a major challenge to receiving international aid on time and are slowing down the process of receiving humanitarian aid, she emphasized, adding, we require the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, to play a supportive role in providing vaccines.”

Pointing out that the IRCS’s volunteer population is at the forefront of tackling the pandemic, he stated that since the beginning of the new year (March 21), the Red Crescent Society, in coordination with relevant organizations, has screened passengers at air, sea and road borders.

So far, more than 350,000 passengers have been monitored with the participation of 471 operational forces at 28 borders nationwide, she added, IRNA reported on Sunday.

Some 1,952 IRCS’s volunteers have received the vaccine, and our goal is to inoculate more than 8,000 employees and 10,000 paramedics, she concluded.

On May 9, the Iranian Red Crescent Society asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to be used for Afghan refugees.

UN appreciates Iran for vaccinating foreign nationals

On May 24, Indrika Ratwatte, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that Iran has generously considered refugees over the age of 75 for vaccination against coronavirus, appreciating Iran for over four decades of hosting refugees.

Living conditions of foreign nationals in Iran

At the end of 2018, Iran hosted close to one million refugees, making it the sixth-largest refugee host country in the world. The country was also the eighth largest refugee-hosting country in the world in 2019, hosting 951,142 Afghan refugees and 28,268 Iraqi refugees, according to the UNHCR.

One of the largest and most protracted urban refugee populations in the world is living in Iran; about 97 percent of refugees live in urban and semi-urban areas, while three percent are residing in 20 refugee resorts run by the UNHCR’s main government counterpart.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, undocumented Afghans have access to free primary health services and similarly free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like nationals.

Despite the challenges, Iran has continued to generously give refugees access to education and health services. Iran is one of the handfuls of countries in the world that offer refugees the option to enroll in national health insurance for essential secondary and tertiary public health services in the same way as Iranian nationals.

The national insurance scheme allows for free COVID-19 treatment and hospitalization. It also subsidizes the cost of surgeries, dialysis, radiology, laboratory tests, outpatient care, and more.

70,000 rare disease patients vaccinated

Some 70,000 patients of rare diseases have received the COVID-19 vaccine so far, Mehdi Shadnoush, head of the transplant management and treatment center of the Ministry of Health, said on May 23.

Rare diseases include peritoneal dialysis, hemophilia, thalassemia, Multiple sclerosis (MS), Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Epidermolysis bullosa (EB), Cystic fibrosis (CF), Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I), autism, organ transplantation, and tissue therapy, patients with primary immunodeficiency disease (PID).

Patients with rare diseases often face a long journey from diagnosis to treatment. There are 540,000 patients in the country.

According to the statistics published in 2019, the number of rare diseases identified in Iran has reached 332 types of diseases.

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“To this end, we have put in a request to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to increase the budget necessary for vaccinating these vulnerable groups,” ILNA quoted Daniel Munoz-Rojas, the deputy representative of the ICRC in Tehran, as saying on Tuesday.

Iran is hosting a large number of Afghan refugees. So, we, as the International Committee of the Red Cross, support the Iranian Red Crescent Society for offering services to the refugees,” he added.

However, it should be noted that vaccines are provided by governments and the International Committee of the Red Cross is not in charge of buying and importing the vaccines, he explained.

On Sunday, IRCS head Karim Hemmati said he has asked the ICRC to provide 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to be used for Afghan refugees.

The population of Afghan immigrants residing in Iran is about two to three million, some of whom sometimes have problems with identity cards or do not have identification codes, Hemmati added.

“If these people are among our priority groups, they will be vaccinated. For example, if an Afghan national is part of the medical staff in Iran, they will be vaccinated,” he noted.

At the end of 2018, Iran hosted close to one million refugees, making it the sixth-largest refugee host country in the world. The country was also the eighth largest refugee-hosting country in the world in 2019, hosting 951,142 Afghan refugees and 28,268 Iraqi refugees, according to the UNHCR.

One of the largest and most protracted urban refugee populations in the world is living in Iran; about 97 percent of refugees live in urban and semi-urban areas, while three percent are residing in 20 refugee resorts run by the UNHCR’s main government counterpart.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, undocumented Afghans have access to free primary health services and similarly free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like nationals.

Some 120,000 refugees residing in Iran are now covered by health insurance, According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Despite the challenges, Iran has continued to generously give refugees access to education and health services. Iran is one of the handfuls of countries in the world that offer refugees the option to enroll in national health insurance for essential secondary and tertiary public health services in the same way as Iranian nationals.

The national insurance scheme allows for free COVID-19 treatment and hospitalization. It also subsidizes the cost of surgeries, dialysis, radiology, laboratory tests, outpatient care, and more.

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The population of Afghan immigrants residing in Iran is about two to three million, some of whom sometimes have problems with identity cards or do not have identification codes, IRCS head Karim Hemmati said.

The Ministry of Interior is trying to provide an identification code for these people so that they can receive the vaccine, he added.

“We requested the Red Cross to provide us with two million doses of vaccine for this target group, but so far, no consignment has been delivered to the country for the refugees,” he explained.

“If these people are among our priority groups, they will be vaccinated. For example, if an Afghan national is part of the medical staff in Iran, they will be vaccinated,” he noted.

At the end of 2018, Iran hosted close to one million refugees, making it the sixth-largest refugee host country in the world. The country was also the eighth largest refugee-hosting country in the world in 2019, hosting 951,142 Afghan refugees and 28,268 Iraqi refugees, according to the UNHCR.

One of the largest and most protracted urban refugee populations in the world is living in Iran; about 97 percent of refugees live in urban and semi-urban areas, while three percent are residing in 20 refugee resorts run by the UNHCR’s main government counterpart.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, undocumented Afghans have access to free primary health services and similarly free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like nationals.

Some 120,000 refugees residing in Iran are now covered by health insurance, According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Despite the challenges, Iran has continued to generously give refugees access to education and health services. Iran is one of the handfuls of countries in the world that offer refugees the option to enroll in national health insurance for essential secondary and tertiary public health services in the same way as Iranian nationals.

The national insurance scheme allows for free COVID-19 treatment and hospitalization. It also subsidizes the cost of surgeries, dialysis, radiology, laboratory tests, outpatient care, and more.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised Iran and Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan refugees during the past four decades.

The post Iran, Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees in past 40 years; UN appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Freijsen made the remarks in a meeting with Mahdi Mahmoudi, head of Iran’s Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants.

Freijsen said in a meeting that was held in Switzerland some time ago the issue of providing services to refugees was raised and it is hoped that a mechanism is devised for more support to Iran as it hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees.

He also said in the current year the UNHCR will try, through cooperation by Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, to activate organizations and international bodies active in areas of refugees.

For his part, Mahmoudi said it is hoped that in the current year international organizations draw up a plan for cooperation with Iran because “we believe that in the areas of providing services to refugees greater and better decisions should be taken.”

In May 2019, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the Western countries not to shrug off their responsibility towards Afghan refugees.

“Supporting immigrants and refugees is an international issue and therefore bearing the responsibilities for them falls upon all countries,” Araghchi noted.

Iran has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Iran also hosted Iraqi refugees fleeing from Saddam Hussein’s brutality in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Araghchi said Iran has warmly welcomed immigrants from Afghanistan and other countries over the last 40 years.

Araghchi, however, said international organizations and other governments, especially the Western ones, have been the cause of many sufferings for the Afghan people and should share part of the burden.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister said that it can be done by

Receiving refugees or paying their share are what they can do, the deputy foreign minister said.

“About 468,000 Afghans attend public schools in Iran, each costing the country 600 euros a year, and more than 23,000 college students, each costing 15,000 euros annually,” he explained.

The senior diplomat reiterated that expelling refugees is not on the government’s agenda. “However,” he said, “should the U.S. sanctions impact Iran’s oil sale and reduce its revenues, Iran would have to consider new approaches toward them, hinting that Afghans would likely then look toward Europe for refuge.”

In a relevant development in September 2018, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli called on the European Union (EU) to help Tehran facilitate refugees’ return to their homeland.

“We are trying to achieve suitable management on the issue of refugees and this needs that both the European Union and the United Nations to concentrate on this issue,” Rahmani Fazli said in a meeting with visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Tehran.

He reiterated that the European countries should feel responsible and give the necessary help for the repatriation of refugees to their countries.

“Iran expects Europe and affluent countries to help cover the costs imposed on host countries by refugees,” Rahmani Fazli added.

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