Update – Southern Africa Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme 15 February 2022 English Original: English and French Standing Committee Eighty-third meeting Update on UNHCR’s operations in southern Africa A. Situational analysis including new developments Regional overview The southern Africa region hosted more than 9 million persons of concern to UNHCR by the end of December 2021. This included some 6.75 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), nearly 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers and more than 1 million IDP returnees. The operational context was marked by complex humanitarian crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and internal conflict in northern Mozambique, while protracted refugee situations endured in Angola, Botswana, the Congo (Republic of), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Arrivals from the Central African Republic largely subsided, although sporadic movements into southern Africa continued to occur. Ongoing mixed movements from across Africa and further afield presented further challenges. The region was also impacted by climate change and natural disasters, which caused loss of life, livelihoods and property. Approximately two thirds of displaced persons in the region were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which remains one of the most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises in Africa. Inter-communal conflict and violence by armed groups triggered vast and repeated displacement. By the end of 2021, some 5.6 million1 Congolese were internally displaced and more than 1 million had sought asylum across 20 African countries. In response to the IDP situation, UNHCR led the protection cluster, the shelter cluster and the non-food items working group, and co-led the camp coordination and camp management working group. In support of refugees, UNHCR led the inter-agency regional refugee response plan for the Democratic Republic of the Congo situation. In addition to facilitating protection and assistance for refugees and host populations, the plan also aims to bolster livelihood opportunities. More than 745,0002 people were internally displaced in northern Mozambique due to the conflict in Cabo Delgado Province. Although the situation had initially improved following the intervention of regional allied forces in July 2021, violent attacks have resumed, and conflict has spilled over into other provinces. Although the security situation hindered humanitarian access and the provision of assistance, UNHCR was able to scale up its protection presence and activities. It led the protection cluster at the national and sub-national levels and has increasingly played a critical role in delivering assistance through the shelter and non-food items cluster and the camp coordination and camp management cluster. As of January 2022, the southern Africa region had reported over 5 million cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The devastating socioeconomic impact of the pandemic 1 This figure is according to statistics from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of November 2021. 2 This figure is according to statistics from the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix, as of September 2021.