LocationsSupporting Refugees and the Communities That Take Them In
December 15, 2025
At the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review, UNDP will show how development helps refugees and host communities recover and rebuild.
Conflict, disasters and climate shocks are driving displacement at unprecedented scale. Yet every day, displaced people and the communities that welcome them work to rebuild their lives, restore dignity and recover their futures. UNDP supports these efforts by strengthening national systems, expanding livelihoods, and helping local institutions manage the pressures of forced displacement.
Afghanistan: Rebuilding Stability Amid Mass Returns
In Afghanistan, more than 2.3 million people returned in 2025 alone after years in Iran and Pakistan. The pressure on already fragile services has been immense, with rising competition for housing, water, jobs, and healthcare.
UNDP’s area-based approach links livelihoods, social cohesion, housing, basic services, and local governance. From restoring markets to expanding access to jobs, healthcare, education, and energy, UNDP is supporting families rebuild their lives and regain stability.
“We came back with nothing,” says Sujita, who returned with her family after eight years abroad. “I was a hairdresser, but since that is no longer allowed, I had to start over. This new job means I can pay rent and cover my family’s needs.”
Uganda: Green Livelihoods for Refugees and Hosts
Uganda hosts nearly two million refugees, placing heavy pressure on land and natural resources. But local communities are leading the way in finding sustainable solutions that protect the environment while generating income.
In Adjumani, farmer Mark Ocan planted three acres of black teak through a UNDP-supported sustainable forestry project. “If we do not replant trees, this place could become a desert,” he says. His work strengthens climate resilience and provides livelihoods for both refugee and host families.
UNDP has also rehabilitated access roads so people can reach markets and schools, while helping households start small businesses and diversify incomes. These steps support self-reliance and reduce the strain on overstretched services.
Syria: Restoring Public Health
In Tartous, Syria, waste piled up as thousands of displaced families returned home, overwhelming local systems and creating serious health risks. UNDP launched a solid waste management initiative employing 150 displaced or returning workers to remove mountains of debris.
“This project gave me the chance to do something meaningful for my city and my family,” says Ibrahim Abdel Rahman, a 27-year-old engineering graduate. The effort restored basic services, improved hygiene, created jobs, and benefited more than 20,000 people across host and returning communities.
Global Refugee Forum Progress Review: A Call for Sustained Solidarity
By the end of 2024, global displacement had reached 117 million people. Low- and middle-income countries hosted 2.5 times more refugees than high-income countries, despite facing their own development challenges.
The Global Refugee Forum (GRF) is the world’s largest gathering on refugee issues. The 2025 Progress Review Meeting (15–17 December) offers a critical moment to examine what has been achieved since the last GRF in 2023 and where gaps remain.
Across displacement-affected regions, UNDP helps governments and local institutions manage population movements, expand essential services, and reduce pressure on host communities. UNDP has invested over $618 million across more than 60 displacement-affected countries.
This includes governance support in Chad, legal aid and housing, land and property assistance in Colombia, and climate adaptation initiatives in Somalia.
These results are possible thanks to sustained support from Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Their long-term investments enable stability, recovery and resilience.
Japan’s HDP Nexus Pledge: Accelerating Development Solutions
The 2023 GRF also highlighted the strengthened partnership between UNDP and Japan through the Multi-Stakeholder Humanitarian–Development–Peace (HDP) Nexus Pledge. The pledge helps bridge immediate humanitarian needs with longer-term recovery by encouraging partners to work together rather than in silos.
Since its launch, the pledge has improved coordination across sectors, including agriculture and energy to climate action, helping countries plan and respond in a more integrated way. Six global roundtables have brought governments, experts and communities together to share practical lessons, while growing interest in flexible financing is opening new pathways for countries to rebuild.
Read the Progress Report Global Refugee Forum Multi-Stakeholder Pledge
Japan’s leadership is also improving lives. In Ukraine, Japan and UNDP are clearing debris, supporting mine action, helping displaced families recover their livelihoods, and restoring electricity and heating that have helped more than nine million people stay warm through winter.
Read more in Japan and UNDP: Rebuilding Stronger After Displacement
Together, these initiatives are accelerating development solutions that help displaced people and host communities rebuild their lives with dignity.
Looking Ahead
UNDP will continue scaling support by embedding displacement response into national systems, linking climate adaptation with livelihoods and recovery, and mobilizing joint financing with governments, UNHCR, IOM, donors, and partners.
The lesson is clear: survival is only the first step. With sustained international solidarity, and partnerships like Japan’s HDP Nexus pledge, displaced people and host communities can rebuild stronger, safer, and more resilient futures.
Read more in the UNDP Global Refugees Forum Progress Report 2025
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