THOUSANDS of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo housed in Zambia’s Mantapala Refugee Settlement will receive cash vouchers by Christmas.
The cash assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) is being facilitated through Citibank Zambia Limited and MTN Zambia.
“The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Citibank Zambia Limited and MTN Zambia have for the first time provided cash assistance to people living in Mantapala Refugee Settlement, home to around 18, 000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), through a digital payment solution, plugPAY,” WFP said in a statement.
WFP said the plugPAY facility “fosters financial inclusion, enabling vulnerable people to choose where they receive and withdraw their cash.” By last Friday, 1, 000 refugees had been paid in three batches.
The cash assistance allows refugees to choose the food of their choice at local markets. WFP said this new public-private partnership was more secure and guaranteed refugees easy access to their funds.
“It offers improved efficiency and better security as WFP can send cash directly to people while streamlining the internal processes to shorten WFP’s response time,” said WFP Country Representative Cissy Byenkya.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Zambia is home to about 100, 000 refugees and asylum seekers. The three main refugee camps are Mantapala, Meheba and Mayukwayukwa.
About 80 percent of the refugee community is from the DRC, followed by Burundi with 11 percent, Somalia five percent while the other three percent is from various small ethnic groups from the region. – NEWS24.
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