The United Nations refugee agency has called upon countries globally to expedite the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns and remove barriers that limit access to vaccines for the world’s 82.4 million displaced people.

While acknowledging efforts by various governments to include displaced people in the mass inoculation programs, the agency noted that some challenges still exist.

"Around the world, we have seen an unwavering commitment to not leave refugees behind in COVID-19 vaccination planning," said Ann Burton, Chief of UNHCR's Public Health Section. "But barriers to vaccination persist. Stronger efforts are needed to ensure that States’ assurances for refugee inclusion turn into tangible reality."

UNHCR lamented over the existence of some measures that locked out refugees from accessing the vital jabs, including the need to register for the vaccines yet they do not have identity documents.

In other countries, people need to register for their vaccinations online, which creates a hindrance for displaced persons without access to the internet. Still, in other cases vaccination sites are hosted in centers far away from where refugees live, thus making it difficult for them to avail themselves.

The U.N. refugee agency commended efforts by countries such as Cameroon, Senegal ad the Democratic Republic of Congo, all of which had rolled out specific vaccination programs targeting displaced people.

The UNHCR said it plans to work together with all states to ensure at least 20 per cent of refugees are vaccinated by the end of 2021, as per the target set by COVAX.

Burton urged countries with surplus doses of vaccines to donate them to lower and middle-income countries to ensure the vaccination exercise is conducted universally.

"Beyond the moral imperative, this is in our collective self-interest," said Burton. "As long as the pandemic remains out of control somewhere, it is threat for everyone everywhere."