Global Initiative Bi-weekly site updates
June 25th to July 07, 2025
Malawi
A census of houses in poor condition began on Tuesday at the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi. The initiative, jointly led by the UNHCR and the Malawian government, aims to rehabilitate dilapidated housing and provide solutions for the homeless living in the camp. A project welcomed but received with reservations by many refugees.
The refugees of Dzaleka, who have been demanding the rehabilitation of their precarious homes for years, say they are relieved that their grievances are finally beginning to be addressed. However, some denounce a lack of transparency in the methodology. They regret not having been involved in the development of housing classification criteria. They believe that the occupants themselves should be the first to judge the true condition of their homes. “A two-year-old house may be in poor condition, while another five years old may still be habitable. It all depends on the materials used and the number of people living there,” a refugee told SOS Médias Burundi.
Dzaleka Refugee Camp hosts over 57,000 people fleeing violence. Refugees come from the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and beyond. For years, UNHCR funding kept basic services running.
Today, those services are collapsing under deep aid cuts. When UNHCR’s funding was on track, it ensured basic protection and services in this camp. But as of late March, the agency reported it had received only 12% of the $26.3 million needed for Malawi this year. Community-based security teams that once patrolled the camp streets have stopped their rounds. Refugees who once dared venture out at night to sell vegetables or seek work feel unsafe. Scattered violence and exploitation – from theft to assault – inevitably rise when no one is watching. Plan Malawi Project Manager for the Services for Refugees and Asylum Seekers Project, funded by UNHCR, Lawrence Maulidi says, “This is is a crisis of human dignity, is not just a funding crisis.”
Kenya
Kenyan authorities should be held accountable for all abuses during countrywide protests on June 25, 2025, including killings, gun injuries, and beatings, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities should also embrace international norms and, going forward, ensure security forces’ response to the ongoing protests is lawful and adheres to international human rights standards.
Thousands of people took to the streets on the morning of June 25 in Nairobi and across several counties in Kenya to commemorate the deaths of the protesters who were killed by security forces during the June 2024 demonstrations. At the time of writing, preliminary media reports indicated that, in addition to the police presence, Kenyan authorities deployed the military to push back large numbers of protesters heading toward Nairobi’s Central Business District and the State House, the official residence of the president.
Following the release of the 2025 Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) results, over 310,000 students have secured placements in universities, colleges, and other tertiary institutions across the country.
On Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba confirmed that 310,502 students had been successfully placed in various programmes across public and private universities, national polytechnics, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and teacher training colleges. Ogamba disclosed that out of the 244,563 candidates who qualified for degree programmes, 201,695 applied for placement to various levels. “The majority of applicants were drawn from the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) cohort,” he said. A total of 962,512 candidates sat the 2024 KCSE examination, with 246,391 attaining the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above, translating to 25.3 per cent of the total candidates. From this group, 194,372 were placed in degree programmes.
Lebanon
Despite the official pronouncement of a ceasef ire, election of a president and formation of a reform-oriented government, the socio-economic situation in Lebanon remained fragile, and the country continued to face serious challenges, compounded by intermitted armed escalations and displacement in Q1 2025. Together with all other populations, the conflict and its aftermath have weakened resilience and deepened vulnerability of the refugee community in Lebanon. Women at risk, persons with disabilities, and older individuals are increasingly unable to meet basic needs like food, medication, transportation, and rental fees. These challenges intensify their protection risks and push many refugees to adopt harmful coping strategies like incurring debts or skipping meals, leading to more complex and overlapping vulnerabilities.
The Hezbollah chief says the Lebanese group remains open to peace, but it will not disarm or back down from confronting Israel until it ends its air raids and withdraws from southern Lebanon.
“We cannot be asked to soften our stance or lay down arms while [Israeli] aggression continues,” Naim Qassem told thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday for Ashura, an important day in the Shia Muslim calendar. Ashura commemorates the 680 AD Battle of Karbala, in which Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, was killed after he refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate. For Shia Muslims, the day symbolises resistance against tyranny and injustice. The Beirut area, a Hezbollah stronghold, was draped in yellow banners and echoed with chants of resistance as Qassem delivered his speech, flanked by portraits of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in September last year.
Rwanda
The cabinet approved major reforms in Rwanda’s education sector, on June 9, to boost learning outcomes and ensure that students receive a well-rounded, career-aligned education from the earliest levels of schooling.
To unpack what these reforms mean, why they are needed, and how they will unfold, The New Times spoke to the Minister of Education, Joseph Nsengimana. A key concern driving the reforms is the high rate of repetition in lower primary grades. About 35 percent of Primary 1 students repeat the grade, often due to time and infrastructure constraints. Over half of Rwanda’s lower primary schools operate on a double-shift system, where students attend in staggered morning and afternoon sessions. “This mismatch left teachers in double-shift schools struggling to complete the curriculum,” Nsengimana explained. Yet the existing curriculum was designed for a single shift with eight lessons per day.
Refugees and host communities in Rwanda are set to benefit from expanded access to jobs, essential services and climate-resilient infrastructure through the second phase of the World Bank-funded Socio-Economic Inclusion of Refugees and Host Communities Project.
Approved today by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, the project will reach an estimated 380,000 people, including 115,000 refugees and 265,000 host community members across six districts in Rwanda. Locally known as Jya Mbere II, (meaning “to progress” in Rwanda’s national language), the project builds on the achievements of Phase I, which demonstrated the potential of inclusive investments in infrastructure and livelihoods to improve outcomes for both displaced and host communities.
Rwanda today joined the global community in celebrating World Refugee Day 2025 under the theme “Solidarity with Refugees”, reaffirming its unwavering commitment to the protection, inclusion, and empowerment of refugees.
The national celebration, held at the Kigali Convention Centre, brought together senior government officials, representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), international development partners, humanitarian agencies, refugee representatives, and civil society organizations. Together, they honoured the strength, courage, and resilience of the more than 136,000 refugees and asylum seekers residing in Rwanda. Delivering keynote remarks, Minister of Emergency Management, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Albert Murasira, emphasized Rwanda’s long-standing dedication to refugee protection and its vision of transforming humanitarian response into sustainable development.
Vietnam
The implementation of a two-tier local government system has brought significant changes in the authority over tasks such as issuing graduation certificates, transferring students, selecting textbooks, and recognizing graduation for students.
The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has recently issued several circulars that redefine the distribution of authority and responsibilities for state management in education between the two levels of local government. Under the new framework, many responsibilities previously handled by the district-level Department of Education and Training (DOET) have been reassigned to commune-level People’s Committees. The circulars replace phrases such as "DOET" and "district-level People's Committee" with "commune-level People's Committee", and "Head of DOET" with "Chairperson of the commune-level People's Committee".
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