Refugees particularly exposed to the Covid-19 pandemic
The global health crisis has put under pressure the refugee camps. If 216 countries globally have been affected by the covid-19, 134 countries hosting refugees have reported local transmission of the coronavirus. More than 80% of refugees and almost all internally displaced people find themselves in low and middle-income co.* "COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic, endangers everyone on the planet – including refugees and other people displaced by conflict or persecution." Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
BNP Paribas’ commitment towards refugees since 2015
When over a million refugees arrived in Europe in 2015, and subsequently the severe humanitarian crisis followed, BNP Paribas decided to commit 5 million euros to non-profit organizations supporting professional and social integration as well as NGOs focused on humanitarian aid, mainly the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Greece. A commitment since renewed: the BNP Paribas refugee aid programme now embarks 10 countries across Europe with an associated budget to support initiatives on the ground for the 2019-2021 period.
In 2019, the BNP Paribas refugee aid programme enabled partner organizations
to help a total of 21 000 refugees.
Supporting partners on the ground to allow refugees to better integrate in their host country
Across the 10 European countries embarked in the programme, all supported organizations concentrate primarily on social and professional integration of refugees. Learning the langage of the host country being the key starting point. All these partnerships are tied with organizations working locally on the ground and in collaboration with the local BNP Paribas teams.
10 countries are part of the BNP Paribas refugee aid programme deployed in Europe
- 37 non-profit organizations supported
- Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, the UK, Switzerland.
The example of JOBLINGE in Germany
In Frankfurt Germany, BNP Paribas supports JOBLINGE a non-profit which helps refugees to learn German and find a job. Discover the testimonies of Ghaith, Syrian refugee and Saidou, Guinean refugee.