According to UNHCR estimates, the total number of forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) has exceeded 110 million as of May 2023.
The World Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series published a paper that developed a machine-learning method to address the lack of price data to assess inflation in crisis situations. The method uses surveys from nearby markets and prices of related commodities to estimate unobserved local market prices.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over 100 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. The World Bank’s Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement (BEoFD) program aims to expand high-quality policy-relevant research to inform the range of more effective and durable responses in conflict and post-conflict situations, contributing to sustainable peacebuilding.
Research published recently from the American Institutes for Research, New York University funded by the World Bank, UNHCR, and the UK, focuses on access to education by forcibly displaced children, with a particular focus on refugees in Chad, Sudan, Pakistan, Colombia and Jordan. This research tried to understand what it costs to educate refugee children through national education systems.
The global learning poverty crisis affects refugee and internally displaced children as well as their host communities. New research shows ways to help address this crisis.
A new World Bank study addresses the knowledge gap about how much it costs to create and sustain jobs in conflict and forced displacement settings. Drawing on a novel dataset covering jobs project portfolios from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the World Bank, our analysis of project costs and results can help inform budgeting and design for jobs support initiatives in crisis situations and globally.
The study of 1.2 million refugees forcibly displaced from Turkey to Greece in 1923 found that granting rights, land, and housing to refugees led to greater social and cultural integration, as well as improved educational outcomes. Inclusive policies such as the right to work, freedom of movement, and access to social services also promote social cohesion and contribute to economic growth without sparking backlash. The research stresses that exclusionary policies are detrimental to both refugees and host communities and that inclusion is key to promoting economic and social prosperity for all.
Uganda and Peru have adopted policies allowing refugees to live with locals and access basic rights and services, improving access to education and healthcare for host communities and reducing negative sentiment towards migrants. Research found that inclusive policies and development investments can bring social and economic prosperity to both host and displaced communities.
This paper examines the intersection of forced displacement, multidimensional poverty, and gender using a tailored Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). The MPI is applied to forcibly displaced populations in five Sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. The paper suggests that future research should use intrahousehold breakdowns to address the needs of the most vulnerable and that deeper analyses of each MPI by country can help policymakers and development and humanitarian partners better design, target, and deploy poverty-alleviation programs.
The research in Somalia used satellite images and smart algorithms to identify and survey internally displaced populations (IDPs) to understand the effects of gender on poverty among IDPs. The study found that poverty rates are higher among IDPs than non-IDPs, with male-headed households being poorer than female-headed ones among both groups. It suggests that poverty reduction policies and programs in Somalia should target and deliver aid based on factors like geographic location, nutritional status, and household composition, and consider women's lack of access to economic opportunities and their caring responsibilities.
Our new study examines the extend of integration of Venezuelan migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees in Brazil, and explores some of the drivers of and barriers to integration. The study looks at the challenges facing displaced Venezuelans in accessing social protection programs and education in Brazil —a country that provides universal access to education, health care and social protection irrespective of legal status.
For refugees, simple decisions like where to live —either inside the camp or out— could have inevitable consequences and affect their quality of life. Read why understanding this is important for their welfare.
Watch the launch of our first of a series of knowledge briefs that highlight the intersection of COVID19, forced displacement, and health.
Read the blog on the living conditions of the large Afghan refugee population who returned from Pakistan between 2014 and 2017 —with a particular emphasis on documented returnees.
Poverty data on refugees and host communities is scarce. Read our blog on how to measure poverty in such cases, with a focus on Chad.
Read our blog on how the Boko Haram insurgency increased the risk of women’s experience of intimate partner violence in Nigeria.
Read this blog on various political and macroeconomic factors that can influence host countries’ asylum policies.
Read our blog on the long-term impacts of sudden inflows of refugees on parents and their children in host communities.
As refugees are both poor and mobile, collecting socioeconomic information on refugees continues to be a challenge. Read our blog on how cross-survey estimation methods can be used to estimate poverty.
Read about the impact results of the Targeting the Ultra Poor program in Afghanistan, which is improving socioeconomic indicators like consumption, food security, assets, and finance.
Also, read Op-ed by former World Bank Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the project.
Read our blog on how, contrary to the popular assumption, forced displacement is more likely to deliver a positive outcome.
Read how social cohesion and relations between forcibly displaced and host communities are pertinent for host governments and other development actors.
Read how through targeted beneficiaries, development actors can better allocate humanitarian assistance and address budget shortage.
