International
Globally displaced persons surpassed 80 million in 2020 – UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has revealed that globally displaced persons surpassed 80 million in 2020.
In a statement made available to Ripples Nigeria by The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), UNHCR said an estimated 30 to 34 million people or 38 to 43 percent of the forcibly displaced persons and refugees are children below 18 years of age.
According to the agency, developing countries host 86 percent of the world’s refugees while some of the least developed countries provide asylum to 28 percent of the total.
Commenting on the development, the Director of TBHF, Mariam Al Hammadi, said Africa was leading in the support for refugees as the continent supports nearly 30 percent of the world’s refugee population.
Read also: UNHCR: 20,000 Cameroonian refugees pour into Nigeria
However, to help raise the standard of humanitarian relief work in Africa and other continents, Al Hammadi said the Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, TBHF, and UNHCR were sponsoring 2021 edition of the Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (SIARA).
She said the development highlights strategic and innovation-driven humanitarian practices, noting that through the award, TBHF seeks to encourage individuals and organisations to develop their targeted programmes to keep pace with the ever-changing nature of humanitarian requirements worldwide.
She noted that previous winners of SIARA have become inspiring models for their peers to follow with their projects serving as benchmarks for successful and sustainable work in the humanitarian sector globally.
Al Hammadi: “SIARA is an international humanitarian honour that recognises the selfless dedication of those working often in remote and dangerous places to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and promote sustainable development.
“By leveraging the capabilities of those impacted by conflicts and crises and helping them reintegrate into society, these stellar individuals and organisations are contributing to the inclusive development of those communities, and laying the foundations of stability in all fields.”
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