Building effective policies to respond to refugee needs

Every two seconds one person is forcibly displaced as a result of conflict or persecution. The UNHCR estimates there are currently 68.5 million forcibly displaced people around the world, with 25.4 million refugees. Almost two thirds of all refugees came from South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Syria; and over half of all refugees are children and teenagers under the age of 18. 

The majority of all displaced people are being hosted in low- and middle-income countries. Top refugee-hosting countries include Turkey, Uganda, Pakistan, and Lebanon. Often, the host country’s policies and systems are not equipped to deal with, and sufficiently support, the needs of refugees and vulnerable migrants.

We work across the policy cycle and multiple sectors to build effective and efficient policy responses that address the needs of vulnerable groups. Find out more about our work:

• Supporting improved education access for all children in Lebanon - our education team is providing technical assistance to the RACE II programme, which aims to strengthen the education system in Lebanon to accommodate the significant rise in students following the influx of Syrian refugees.

• Intergrating refugees with their host communities is essential for improving well-being for all. However, how to achieve this in practice is still a challenge, particularly in developing countries already struggling to provide basic services. Our senior consultants Michele Bince and Karin Seyfert disscuss the topic in this article.

• Evaluating support to conflict-affected people and peace building in Myanmar - we evaluated the UK support to Conflict-Affected People and Peace Building in Burma programme which ran between 2012 and 2019 following protracted conflict in Myanmar. Our evaluation assessed the relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of the programme to inform future implementation.

• Jo Robinson explores the need for conflict-sensitivity as an integral part of refugee assistance, understanding the complex relationship of conflict and forced displacement to ensure the success of humanitarian relief efforts.

• Do cash transfers reduce negative coping strategies among Syrian refugees? In response to the Syrian refugee crisis, cash transfers were given to the poorest refugee households to increase their ability to obtain basic necessities. Through mixed-method evaluation, we assessed the effectiveness of this scheme.

• This guest blog, Mary Strode examines the complexity, variety, and benefits of refugee statistics.