In a world marked by rapid change, one of the persistent challenges that reminds us of our shared humanity is forced displacement. Millions of people around the globe find themselves uprooted from their homes due to conflict, persecution, or other crises, challenging governments to provide support and solutions. Policies must address the needs both of forcibly displaced populations (FDPs) and the communities that host them.
This panel discussion focused on forced displacement from a development perspective, emphasizing the importance of providing a broader understanding of welfare for forcibly displaced populations to inform and prioritize policy responses. Panelists discussed the intersection of data and policy, summarizing results from a novel World Bank data harmonization exercise that allows to compare information on FDPs and host populations across various displacement contexts, and the recently completed report on the welfare of FDPs and hosts during the COVID-19 pandemic, to inform how policy solutions may work for both.