UNHCR celebrates DAFI’s 30 years of refugee scholarship support: This month, the UNHCR celebrated 30 years of providing scholarship opportunities through the German-backed DAFI scholarship program to displaced persons, transforming their lives and prospects. Over 21,500 refugee students’ lives have been positively impacted through Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) scholarship program. These students have majored in diverse fields ranging from medicine to business administration, social and behavioural sciences, mathematics, and computer sciences. During the celebrations, the UNHCR urged for more investments in refugee tertiary education in order to achieve the 15 by 30 target – to ensure that 15% of eligible refugees can access tertiary education by 2030. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3FyQnDO

WB – Environment and Natural Resource Management as a Pathway to Peace : On 31/10, the WB published a report exploring environment-conflict dynamics with a view to helping integrate them more broadly into WB’s intervention in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS). Climate change, environment degradation and conflict are strongly correlated. Natural resources were a source of contention in one out of four global crises and conflicts in 2014-2020. Furthermore, 70 percent of the most climate-vulnerable countries are also among the most fragile. The report also offers an in-depth analysis of the interplay between environment, climate change, fragility and gender. Find the report here: https://bit.ly/3NvMH7I

Developing a State-led Social Safety Net System to Boost Human Capital and Build Resilience in Somalia: The Baxnaano Program: Since its launch in 2019, Baxnaano has provided a platform for the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to play a new and continuing role in social safety net provision to households facing chronic poverty and the aggravating impacts of multiple climate-related shocks: https://bit.ly/3CIqEpJ

WB – Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report: On 05/10, the WB published the Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report, which provides the first comprehensive look at the global landscape of poverty in the aftermath of the series of shocks to the global economy over the past few years. It estimates that the pandemic pushed about 70 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, the largest one-year increase since global poverty monitoring began in 1990. The report indicates that 2020 marked a historic turning point: global inequality rose for the first time in decades. Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for 60% of all people in extreme poverty. The region’s poverty rate is about 35%, the world’s highest. Find the report here.: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/poverty-and-shared-prosperity

WB – Africa Pulse: On 04/10, the WB published the Africa’s Pulse highlighting that economic activity in the region is set to decelerate from 4.1% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022. Hunger has sharply increased in the region in recent years driven by economic shocks, violence and conflict and extreme weather. Debt is projected to stay elevated at 58.6% of GDP in 2022. African governments spent 16.5% of their revenues servicing external debt in 2021, up from less than 5% in 2010. Eight out of 38 International Development Association (IDA)-eligible countries in the region are in debt distress and 14 are at high risk of joining them. Find the report here: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/38092

Some 9,189 additional refugees were registered in Zambia (2,777 asylum-seekers, 2,060 births and 4,352 in-situ) between 1 January and 31 August 2022. Some 75 per cent are from the Democratic Democratic Republic of the Congo. 1,087 refugee files were submitted to resettlement countries from 1 January to 31 August 2022. 756 refugees were resettlement to USA, Sweden and Finland. A total of 17,800 learners enrolled in early childhood education , primary and secondary schools in Zambia’s three refugee settlements. Over 250 refugee students are enrolled in different universities in Zambia.

Some 9,189 additional refugees were registered in Zambia (2,777 asylum-seekers, 2,060 births and 4,352 in-situ) between 1 January and 31 August 2022. Some 75 per cent are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 1,087 refugee files were submitted to resettlement countries from 1 January to 31 August 2022. 756 refugees were resettlement to USA, Sweden and Finland. A total of 17,800 learners enrolled in early childhood education, primary and secondary schools in Zambia’s three refugee settlements. Over 250 refugee students are enrolled in different universities in Zambia.

“How Kenya's unemployment rate rose highest in E. Africa” The number of Kenyans out of work has doubled over a decade of infrastructure-fuelled economic growth and faster adoption of technology that has left East Africa’s largest economy with the highest unemployment rate in the region. World Bank data shows 5.7 percent of Kenya’s labour force was out of work in 2021, up from 2.8 percent when the Jubilee administration took over in 2013. Kenya has a youth bulge, with 18-34-year-olds making up 25 percent of the population, and those below 15 making up 43 percent. This part of the population can be a blessing or a curse, for instance fueling crime and social unrest. Read more here: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/data-hub/how-kenya-s-unemployment-rate-rose-highest-in-e-africa-3940646

ILO Blog: How governments can drive demand for crop insurance - Evidence from Zambia and Kenya. Agriculture is an inherently risky activity, with farmers facing natural risks, climatic shocks and, more recently in Ukraine, non-agricultural shocks that increase fertiliser prices. Still, the demand for agricultural insurance has so far been low if offered to farmers as a standalone product. In ILO's latest blog, we explore how bundled agricultural insurance can grow farmers' demand for agricultural inputs and help increase their farming outputs. Read more here: https://medium.com/impact-insurance/how-governments-can-drive-demand-for-crop-insurance-while-protecting-their-own-and-their-farmers-f107b4fd54f2

In Tanzania, UNHCR’s Grandi urges more backing for solutions as the country continues to host refugees: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, concluded a visit to the United Republic of Tanzania today with a call for more donor support for solutions, including sustainable voluntary returns. During his three-day visit, Grandi met with Tanzania’s President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and discussed the importance of creating favourable conditions for the return of Burundian refugees, while ensuring all refugees in Tanzania are protected and assisted. Read more here: https://media.unhcr.org/Share/18l51xe4g08ryp1b4a1m3hi1mc175eor?FR_=1&W=1119&H=513