(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Some 2.4 million people are displaced in South Sudan, according to recent UNHCR statistics. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

The funds decided by the government cover Switzerland's contribution to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for 2023-2024.

This content was published on February 1, 2023 - 11:41 February 1, 2023 - 11:41 Keystone-SDA/dos

The CHF68 million ($74.3 million) comes in response to the“unprecedented flow of people forced to abandon their homes due to armed conflict”, the executive wrote on Wednesday.

+ read more: how switzerland sends emergency aid to ukraine

It said the UNHCR helps to provide“dignified hosting conditions and medical assistance to those forced to flee as well as access to education for their children.”

The UN agency is a key partner in the implementation of Swiss foreign policy, the government added.

The Geneva-based UNHCR said in October last year that 103 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced, with almost three-quarters of them coming from just five countries: Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, Afghanistan and South Sudan.

The 100 million mark for forcibly displaced was reached for the first time ever last May, UNHCR wrote at the time.

Switzerland has granted humanitarian visas to some 74,000 Ukrainians since the war started last year. But as resources and the asylum system struggle under the pressure, it also put on hold a fast-track UNCHR programme for the resettlement of vulnerable refugees from places like Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan, media reported in December.

MENAFN01022023000210011054ID1105510245