Armenian National Institute
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November 14, 2023
As of 7th November 2023, 101,848 refugees, including 30,000 children have been displaced from the Nagorno‑Karabakh to Armenia. Among the arrivals, 52% are women and girls, 31% are children, and 16% are with disabilities. The registration of the displaced population in Armenia, conducted by the State Migration Service is now completed. Though the inflow has stabilized, the mobility across the country, however, is still high. Refugees are mostly located in marzes (regions) near Yerevan (Kotayk, Ararat and Armavir) and Yerevan city.
The distribution of displaced people by regions is as follows: Aragatsotn region: 4,109 people, Ararat region: 18,367 people, Armavir region: 8,144 people, Gegharkunik region: 4,919 people, Lori region: 4,487 people, Kotayk region: 22,150 people, Shirak region: 5,540 people, Syunik region: 5,540 people, Vayots Dzor region: 2,285 people and Tavush region: 3,189 people.
The Government has provided temporary accommodation to those in need. To date, nearly 58,000 people have been accommodated in shelters provided by the state as a temporary solution, until the displaced people settle in local communities, following the receipt of cash assistance for rent and utilities (designed for an initial period of six months).
As reported by the Deputy Prime Minister, around 98% of displaced people have received a one-time universal cash assistance of approximately US$ 250 per person. 24,000 of those who received universal cash assistance are children.
Cash assistance for housing and communal expenses, equal to approximately US$ 100 and US$ 25 per person per month respectively has been launched. 41,611 people have already received that amount.
Meanwhile another cash assistance program aimed at supporting forcibly displaced will be launched during November-December 2023 (US$ 125 per person) to cover their primary consumer expenses.
79% (around 16,371) of children forcibly displaced from Nagorno‑Karabakh have been already enrolled in the schools of the regions of Armenia and Yerevan, of which 5,185 are in Yerevan, the rest in regions.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MESCS) is committed to ensure 100% enrollment of displaced children as soon as possible, noting that the still ongoing movement of people across the country remains a key bottleneck to achieving this goal. In the regional offices of World Vision Armenia, our social workers complement the efforts of MESCS to identify displaced children excluded from education and support their parents and caregivers to contact the nearest educational institution in their place of residence and ensure the continuity of their children's education.
After the rapid needs assessment conducted during the first days of the displacement crisis, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) is currently developing a comprehensive needs assessment tool to plan more long-term interventions. World Vision Armenia provides continuous support to MLSA in this process.
The field work carried out by World Vision Armenia's social workers once again proves that most of displaced families still need support with food, clothes, beds, blankets and hygiene items. In addition, the need for mental health and psychosocial support is particularly high and requires solid investment through a variety of approaches and channels.
From the very beginning of the crisis and first flow of arrivals of forcibly displaced population, WV Armenia immediately has established Response teams at National and regional levels and the staff is already engaged in relief actions. As described below, WV Armenia supported around 6,000 displaced persons. In particular:
World Vision Armenia is launching a cash assistance project to support displaced families. During upcoming days, a comprehensive MoU will be signed with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to join the coordination efforts with this regard.
This initial support will be followed by more long-term interventions (psychological support, livelihood, winterization, social and economic integration, etc.) for which WVA staff collects data on the urgent needs of displaced people on an ongoing basis.
World Vision Armenia closely coordinates all its activities related to this crisis with Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA).
World Vision Armenia is participating in UN clusters that are activated in response to conflict escalation: Child Protection, Shelter, Early Recovery, and Cash clusters. These involvements signify our commitment to a multisectoral approach in addressing the complex challenges posed by crises.
Along with UN agencies, WV Armenia is in constant touch with BHA, USAID, EU, ECHO, as well as with other donor organizations for cooperation and collaboration work on the ground.
At regional (marz) level our local offices are in close cooperation with local and regional authorities, community social workers, territorial agencies of Unified Social Service, and other like-minded organizations.
WV Armenia is cooperating with regional and global WV offices to utilize the organization's capacity for our response programs in Armenia.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors and partners, World Vision Armenia continues to provide lifesaving assistance to displaced population. To date, WV Armenia has secured more than $1,500,000 funds to implement response projects, but the need is much higher. The funding priorities remain food and basic NFIs, winterization (warm clothes, bedding and blankets, space heaters), supplies, psychosocial support, cash and essential services for the emergency response, while more comprehensive livelihood assistance will be needed in a long run.