PROTECTION NOTE> West and Central Africa / 15 APRIL 2020 Response In this context, UNHCR actively participates in the development of COVID-19 education response strategies under the aegis of Ministries of Education, alongside other education stakeholders such as Education Clusters and Local Education Groups, to ensure that refugee and forcibly displaced children and youth affected by school closures will continue to have equitable access to education. To ensure the continuity of learning in a protective environment and to prepare for the reopening of schools, UNHCR supports Ministries of Education’s efforts to: • • • • Develop flexible and context-appropriate distance education programs (radio, telephone, television, digital) to ensure pedagogical continuity for all students; Develop and distribute pedagogical materials adapted to distance learning and aligned with national programs; Circulate prevention messages and provide hygiene kits to refugee students and their host communities; Develop national guidance to support all higher education students (including DAFI scholars) to access to health services and distant education opportunities. Statelessness As part of the set of measures enacted to fight the pandemic, several Governments of West and Central Africa have suspended civil registration activities linked to the issuance of national identity cards. These measures bear a general scope and do not specifically target persons of concern to UNHCR. However, they directly impact the implementation of National Action Plans against statelessness, and the timely delivery of pledges made at the High-Level Segment on statelessness in October 2019. In Burkina Faso, the Government response plan to the pandemic is leading inter alia to the suspension of the delivery of national identity cards, an activity which was supported by UNHCR for the benefit of 20,000 individuals, including 12,000 IDPs and 8,000 members of host communities. The objectives of the project included access to essential services and reduction of risks of statelessness in displacement-affected areas of Burkina Faso. In Côte d’Ivoire, measures to curb the spread of the pandemic have led to the suspension of meetings of local committees against statelessness and halted important counseling and sensitization meetings. This is negatively impacting UNHCR and partners capacity to identify and support persons at risk of statelessness, ensure birth registration, birth documentation and issuance of nationality certificates to stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness. Response • • • • Remote individual legal counselling by phone, on documentation and other protection issues; Use of pre-recorded messages broadcasted on local media for sensitization on civil registration and documentation; Phone meetings with local committees against statelessness allowing for exchange of information between UNHCR and affected communities on a regular basis, and continuous identification and referral of persons at risk of statelessness; Advocacy with and support to Governments for online access to civil documentation. www.unhcr.org 6