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On 13 March, UNHCR welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev. Justin Welby to UNHCR’s integrated service hub RomExpo in Bucharest. Accompanied by the UNHCR Representative and State Secretary Dr. Arafat, the Archbishop saw the functioning of the services and the inter-connectivity among them, and met with partners, including governmental authorities, UN Agencies, NGOs, and privately with a refugee family. He also visited the nearby donations centre run by the Municipality of Bucharest.
Coordination
On 17 March, a UNHCR and Inter-Agency team visited authorities in Brasov. The UNHCR Representative met with the Prefect, Mr. Vasii, and senior officials from local government authorities and visited the Municipality-run CATTIA Center along with Deputy Mayor Ms. Boghiu. Discussions encompassed the current situation of refugees and future needs, focusing on the most vulnerable, as well as continued support to the CATTIA Center. Over the past year UNHCR facilitated six county-level coordination networks in order to support local authorities and NGOs in the refugee response.
On 16 March, UNHCR participated in an FONPC and CARE organised event to mark one year of the humanitarian response for refugees from Ukraine with representatives from authorities, NGO’s and international organisations. In his remarks, the UNHCR Representative reflected on the first year of humanitarian response and outlined some challenges ahead in terms of protection, inclusion and assistance to the most vulnerable, in what needs to be a sustained response.
Response
Distribution of core-relief items (CRIS) is ongoing in multiple Romanian regions hosting refugees from Ukraine. This week, UNHCR provided clothes to the Community centre for Ukrainian refugees living in and around Iasi (near the border with Moldova) which will be shared with around 300 refugees. Moreover, additional winter clothes have been distributed to 80 refugees living in the transit centre in Radauti (near the border with Ukraine). In Constanta and Navodari, some 245 refugee families benefitted from corerelief items’ distribution. In Navodari, focus group discussions were held on the assistance needs. Also, in Constanta, a mobile cash-enrolment team registered refugees throughout the week for winter cash assistance. In addition, UNHCR handed over 21,000 litres of bottled water to the local Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) in Satu Mare county; the water will be offered to those arriving from Ukraine.
UNHCR continues to empower refugee women from Ukraine and support their inclusion efforts in the host community. On 8 March, Sensiblu Foundation, together with Cluj Metropolitan Area Intercommunity Development Association organised two women socialisation groups in Cluj and Suceava attended by 51 individuals. During group sessions, refugee women had the possibility to interact with women from the local community and express themselves in a creative way by attending a “card making” workshop. Participants also had the opportunity to share their stories and feelings with other members of the group.
UNHCR is grateful to the donors of unearmarked and softly earmarked contributions to the Ukraine situation. UNHCR in Romania is also grateful to donors contributing to its 2023 programmes. For more details: Romania Funding Update - 2023 | Global Focus (unhcr.org)