FACT SHEETEgypt
November 2020
Egypt hosts refugees andasylum-seekers
from57countries of origin. The majority
live in urban areas alongsidehost communities.

Currently, 258,882 refugees
and asylum-seekers areregisteredwithUNHCR
Egypt. Half of them are fromSyria.

During the COVID-19 pandemic,
UNHCR has adapted its activities
to the changing circumstances,continuing to provide criticalassistance and protection support.

POPULATION OF CONCERN

FUNDING IN 2020 (AS OF 1 DECEMBER 2020)

Countries of Origin

USD 118.3 M
requested for UNHCR’s Egypt Operation

130,187

Syria

Funded42%

49,264

Sudan
South Sudan

19,813

Eritrea

18,995

Ethiopa

16,115

Yemen

9,278

Iraq

6,812

Somalia

6,753

Other

1,665

USD 50.17 M

Gap
58%
USD 68.13 M

COVID-19 in Egypt
The majority of refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt
were already highly vulnerable prior to the outbreak of
COVID-19, and have been further impacted by theevolving circumstances. Many have lost their source ofincome and reportedly cannot afford sufficient basic
supplies or pay their rent. Unaccompanied andseparated children are becoming increasingly vulnerable,and cases of gender-based violence (GBV) continue to bereported. Elderly people and persons with special
needs and medical conditions are among the mostaffected groups during the pandemic.
UNHCR Egypt maintained its essential services since thebeginning of the pandemic. By the end of August, allactivities have resumed with adapted modalities andprecautionary measures in place.
UNHCR Egypt has strengthened and adapted its
communication with refugees and asylum-seekers

www.unhcr.org/eg

8,785
23,9993,609
10,6582,386
205,490Location of refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt

through various channels, including phone, e-mail,social media, and messaging services. UNHCR’s info-line
continues to operate, and emergency contact lines havebeen established with partners to ensure 24-hour service.
From mid-March to end of November, UNHCR
responded to over 139,000 calls to its info-line andregistration hotline.

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FACT SHEET > Egypt / November 2020

Working with Partners
UNHCR works closely with the Government of Egypt, UN agencies, and international and nationalNGOs to provide protection and assistance to asylum-seekers and refugees. UNHCR leads the Inter-Agency
Working Group (IAWG), the main refugee coordination mechanism which gathers representatives from UNagencies as well as international and national NGOs. The IAWG oversees an Inter-Sector Working Group(ISWG) and six sectorial working groups: Protection, Education, Health, Basic Needs and Cash, Livelihoods,and Communication with Communities (CwC). The Protection sector includes three sub-working groups which
consist of Child Protection, Prevention and Response to GBV, and Durable Solutions. In the context of theCOVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR works closely with partners to ensure a coordinated response to emerging
needs, with coordination meetings currently taking place through videoconferencing.

Main Activities
Protection■ UNHCR Egypt registers and documents asylum-seekers and refugees on behalf of the Governmentof Egypt. The registration entails the use of biometric information, iris scanning and finger printing. At
present, UNHCR Egypt continues to implement registration activities through phone interviews followed
by in-person verification to ensure integrity of the process. In this context, UNHCR is now receiving alimited number of refugees and asylum-seekers at its premises for registration activities. UNHCR Egypt
has advocated with national authorities for tolerance with regards to asylum-seekers and refugees with
expired UNHCR cards or residencies, and those who do not yet have UNHCR documentation. The office
is now exploring ways increase its processing capacity.
■UNHCR Egypt is the largest refugee status determination (RSD) operation globally and conducts
RSD on behalf of the Government for all nationalities, except Syrians and Yemenis. Since June 2020,UNHCR has been conducting remote RSD interviews.

■

Refugees and asylum-seekers have access to legal remedies and representation through lawyers ofNGO partners. Those arrested for administrative and residency related charges are provided with legal
assistance. UNHCR intervenes with local authorities for their release. The office continues to advocate
for access to persons in detention who may be in need of international protection.

■

UNHCR and partners provide special assistance and psychosocial support to children at risk,
survivors of GBV, and those who have experienced or witnessed conflict, violence or trauma. With
modified working modalities in light of the pandemic, UNHCR and partners continue to provide casemanagement support to GBV survivors through remote means, as well as emergency services.

■

Around 37 per cent of all refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt are children (97,002). Out of this figure,
4,067 are unaccompanied and separated children (UASC). UNHCR conducts Best Interest
Assessments (BIAs) and prioritizes protection and assistance to UASC and other children at risk acrossall programmes through prevention and response activities and specialized services, including quality
case management, strengthening of national child protection systems and internal/external capacity
building. Following the partial suspension of activities due to the pandemic, BIAs, case management,
referrals, follow-up and counselling are conducted by phone, while emergency and essential services
remain functional.

■

In addition to close coordination with partners, daily refugee counselling and case management are
now done remotely and continue to be integral components of the Office’s engagement with refugees andasylum-seekers.

www.nhcr.org/eg
www.unhcr.org/eg
Syria Regional Refugee Response: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria
UNHCR Refugees & Migration Emergency Mediterranean Response: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean

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FACT SHEET > Egypt / November 2020■■

UNHCR and partners provide targeted support to persons with specific needs through individual casemanagement and community-based psychosocial support and emergency response. Extremely
vulnerable persons living with disabilities and elderly people also benefit from targeted assistance that
includes individual and group counselling, provision of assistive devices, and participation in social andrecreational events aimed at breaking their isolation from communal activities. During the COVID-19
crisis, essential services continue to be provided to persons with specific needs, with emergency cases
being prioritized.
UNHCR has internal integrity mechanisms in place — including anti-fraud and complaints receipt
systems — to ensure full adherence to the organisation’s principles, values, and guidelines.

Durable Solutions■ UNHCR Egypt remains among the largest resettlement programmes. Resettlement is driven by thehigh protection needs of the populations in the country, which is often coupled with severe economic
vulnerability. Currently, UNHCR Egypt is conducting a pilot project for remote Resettlement interviews,
with the necessary procedural and integrity safeguards in place. With the reopening of Cairo Airport tointernational commercial flights as of 1 July, resettlement departures from Egypt have resumed on a smallscale. From January to September, the cases of 1,660 refugees were submitted to third countries forresettlement consideration. In the same period, 948 refugees departed from Egypt to nine resettlementcountries.
Cash-Based Interventions■ In Egypt, UNHCR has one of its largest cash operations globally. The Office delivers monthly
unconditional cash grants to extremely vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers in order to provide
protection and assistance, and to avoid resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as incurring debt
or reducing expenditures on food and other essential items. In 2020, UNHCR assists an average of 10,400
families per month (comprising approximately 41,600 refugees and asylum-seekers) with cash grants
under its regular program. As part of its COVID-19 response, UNHCR extended temporary cash
assistance to additional 7,845 vulnerable families and more than 59,000 refugees and asylum-seekers
received support to procure hygiene items.
Education■ Syrian, Sudanese, South Sudanese and Yemeni refugees and asylum-seekers have been granted accessto public education on the same level as nationals. UNHCR continues to advocate for the inclusion in
public education of refugees and asylum-seekers of all nationalities.
■ Public schools, community schools and private schools re-opened by October 2020. On 4 October, theMinistry of Education officially informed UNHCR that refugees and asylum-seekers with expired
documents and expired residence permits would be admitted in Egyptian schools for the academicyear 2020/2021. This was in response to an official correspondence initiated by UNHCR and enhanced
advocacy efforts during several months. Before this development, many refugees and asylum-seekers
had expressed their concerns and anxiety, worrying that their children would miss the school year.
■ For the academic year 2020/2021, UNHCR is providing education grants to students in public,
community and private schools. Additionally, enhanced education grants are provided tounaccompanied and separated children and children with special needs, who are supported withenrolment in specialized schools catering to their individual educational needs.
■ UNHCR also supports access of refugees and asylum-seekers to tertiary education. Currently, 448
students receive scholarships through UNHCR from the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee
Initiative (DAFI) to continue their university studies. Approximately 110 scholars will graduate before theend of 2020. In addition, four students receive scholarships to attend the Egypt-Japan University ofScience and Technology in Alexandria.

www.nhcr.org/eg
www.unhcr.org/eg
Syria Regional Refugee Response: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria
UNHCR Refugees & Migration Emergency Mediterranean Response: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean

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FACT SHEET > Egypt / November 2020
Health■ Refugees and asylum-seekers have access to public primary, secondary and emergency health careon an equal level to Egyptian citizens. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Egyptian
national COVID-19 response plan does not differentiate among nationalities within the population (i.e.
locals and foreigners, including refugees) in accordance with international health regulations.
■ UNHCR supports national efforts to improve the quality of services to refugees and asylum-seekers, aswell as the host population in areas with high concentrations of refugees. This entails strengthening theexisting national health system through capacity-building of health care staff and provision ofequipment. In relation to the national COVID-19 response, UNHCR supported the Ministry of Health andPopulation with personal protective equipment, including 15,000 N95 masks, 160,000 surgical masks and
380,000 pairs of gloves.
■ UNHCR continues to deliver health care assistance for patients with chronic diseases, as well as
psychosocial and mental health support through partners. Moreover, the office provides secondaryand referral care for life-saving treatments for all refugees and asylum-seekers.
Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion■ UNHCR, in cooperation with partners, develops community-based livelihood projects and provides
eligible refugees and asylum-seekers with training, coaching, counselling and other support lines to assist
them in sustainable livelihood activities. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, livelihood partners carried out
quick assessments to measure changes in the economic situation of refugees and asylum-seekers.
Community Empowerment■ UNHCR maintains an active outreach programme for Communication with Communities (CwC). The teamprovides refugees and asylum-seekers with information about services provided by UNHCR and partners
and encourages feedback. Participatory assessments, focus group discussions, and awarenesssessions conducted with refugees and asylum-seekers throughout the year enables UNHCR to directly
monitor their protection concerns and coping mechanisms, and to identify possible solutions aimed atimproving their living conditions.
■ In order to strengthen the role of communities in the delivery of protection solutions, refugee community
focal persons and outreach volunteers have been trained on identification and referral of vulnerable
persons in need of assistance. UNHCR maintains a very close communication with these community
focal points and volunteers during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Weekly meetings between UNHCR
technical experts of different sectors and refugee and asylum-seeker communities continue to take place
via videoconferencing.

DonorsTotal recorded contributions for the Egypt operation in 2020 amount to USD 50.17 million.
UNHCR is grateful for the critical support provided to the Egypt Operation by: the United States ofAmerica, the European Union, the Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa (RDDPNA), Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD), the United
Kingdom, the United Nations Population Fund, Omnia Abdullah Taha Bakhsh, World Assembly of Muslim
Youth, Japan, and miscellaneous private donors.
Special thanks to major donors of unearmarked contributions: Sweden | Private donors Spain | Norway |Netherlands | Denmark | Private donors Republic of Korea | United Kingdom | Private donors Japan |Germany | Japan | Switzerland | Private donors Italy | France | Private donors Sweden | Private donors USA |Italy
CONTACTS
Reem Abdelhamid, Snr. External Relations Officer
abdelhar@unhcr.org
Public Information and External Relations Unit
arecapi@unhcr.org Tel: +20227285600 ext. 2148

Silja Rezk, Reporting Officer
rezks@unhcr.org Tel: +20227285600 ext. 2144
Follow UNHCR Egypt on:

www.nhcr.org/eg
www.unhcr.org/eg
Syria Regional Refugee Response: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria
UNHCR Refugees & Migration Emergency Mediterranean Response: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean

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