Getty Images The Backlog Project was launched to deal with the more than 153 000 backlog of asylum seekers in South Africa. It will now take four years instead of the originally estimated more than 60 years. Of the 266 694 refugees and asylum-seekers in South Africa, two-thirds of them do not have access to the full rights and privileges of refugee status. South Africa has been praised for including refugees and asylum seekers in its Covid-19 vaccine plans. “The mantra that we’re only safe if everyone is safe will be manifested,” said Valentin Tapsoba, Director of the Regional Bureau for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) southern Africa.