Building Evidence on Forced Displacement

During displacement due to conflict or violence, families are often separated, assets and livelihoods are lost or disrupted, and language barriers, legal constraints and discrimination may arise. The nature of these impacts, and barriers and opportunities, may differ between women and men. Yet development policies and programs are often designed without taking these gendered factors and differences into account, and often fail to monitor how outcomes and impacts vary between men and women, girls and boys.

The series of empirical analysis produced by the Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement (GDFD) Research Program examined a range of interrelated drivers and manifestations of gender inequality – including income and multi-dimensional poverty, livelihoods, gender norms and the risks of experiencing intimate partner violence and child marriage. Led by the Gender Group at the World Bank, the research was carried out in partnership with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; the International Security and Development Center; the Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace and Security; the Economic Research Forum; St. Catherine University; USAID; Action Kivu; Wageningen University; University of Minnesota; UNHCR; and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

The research work was organized into several categories: policy and analysis; poverty and inequality; livelihoods and development; gender-based violence; and gender norms. 

Policy and Analysis

• Key Development Challenges Around Internal Displacement
• Key Challenges for Refugee Policies and Programs
• The Gender Dimensions of Forced Displacement: A Synthesis of New Research
• How often is gender addressed in research on forced displacement?

Poverty and Inequality

• Differences in Household Composition: Hidden Dimensions of Poverty and Displacement in Somalia
  • Blog: Want to keep internally displaced people in Somalia out of poverty? Increase women’s economic opportunities
• A Multi-Country Analysis of Multidimensional Poverty in Contexts of Forced Displacement
• Multidimensional Poverty, Gender, and Forced Displacement: A Multi-Country, Intrahousehold Analysis in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Blog: How new tools can more accurately measure the intersection of forced displacement, gender, and poverty
• How Does Poverty Differ Among Refugees? Taking a Gender Lens to the Data on Syrian Refugees in Jordan
• The Impact of Protracted Displacement on Syrian Refugees in Jordan: The Evolution of Household Composition and Poverty Rates

Gender-based Violence

• Conflict, Displacement and Overlapping Vulnerabilities: Understanding Risk Factors for Gender-based Violence among Displaced Women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
• Intimate Partner Violence and Household Decision-making Autonomy: Effects of the Malian Conflict on Women
• The Risk That Travels with You: Links between Forced Displacement, Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in Colombia and Liberia
• Effect of Armed Conflict on Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from the Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria
  • Blog: Does armed conflict increase a woman’s risk of suffering intimate partner violence?
• Conflict and Girl Child Marriage: Global Evidence

Livelihoods and Development

• Forced Displacement, Gender, and Livelihoods: Refugees in Ethiopia
• The double burden of female displacement: Survey data evidence on gendered livelihoods and welfare from protracted forcibly displaced and host community women in El Fasher in Darfur, Sudan
• Coping with Compounding Challenges in Conflict Crises : Evidence from North-east Nigeria

Gender Norms

• Do Gender Norms Change with Conflict-Induced Displacement? The Case of Colombia
• How Do Gender Norms Shape Education and Domestic Work Outcomes? The Case of Syrian Refugee Adolescents in Jordan
  • Blog: How gender norms influence school enrollment and domestic work for Syrian refugee adolescents in Jordan

In addition, the program's Young Fellows produced the following research related to gender dimensions in forced displacement contexts:

• Climate Shocks, Migration, and Labor Markets: A Gender Analysis from West Africa

The influx of large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) can pose significant challenges to health systems, even in the most developed settings. In contexts which are fragile or conflict-affected, the strain placed on health systems can be acute. In protracted crises, and where displaced persons settle within established host communities, the transition from an acute-phase humanitarian response to development support requires careful coordination with the national health system to avoid creating inefficiencies and service gaps or exacerbating inequity.

A multi-country project, the Big Questions in Forced Displacement and Health global study provides evidence and guidance to strengthen health systems addressing the needs of displaced and host populations in the context of protracted displacement. Managed by the World Bank's Health, Nutrition, and Population Global Practice, the research work was led by Columbia University’s Program on Forced Migration and Health, in partnership with the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University; Georgetown University; the Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut (AUB); and the School of Government at the Universidad de Los Andes.

With studies of Bangladesh, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Jordan, the project identifies optimal approaches that respond to the health needs of the displaced while strengthening health systems for host communities - critical to national and international actors directing and funding health responses in situations of forced displacement. The launch event for the reports took place in New York and Geneva in December 2022.

In addition to the global report and the country studies, the project produced several timely knowledge briefs on the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Read the reports:

• World Bank Consortium : The Big Questions in Forced Displacement and Health
• The Big Questions in Forced Displacement and Health: Executive summary
• Bangladesh Country Report
• Colombia Country Report
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Country Report
• Jordan Country Report

Read the knowledge briefs:  

• Preventing and Mitigating Indirect Health Impacts of COVID-19 on Displaced Populations in Humanitarian Settings I Release event
• Family Violence Protection in the Context of COVID-19 and Forced Displacement I Release event
• Addressing the Human Capital Dimension of the COVID-19 Response in Forced Displacement Settings I Release event
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia on utilization of medical services by Venezuelan migrants and Colombian citizens

Watch the launch events:

• Launch Event (New York)
• The Big Questions in Forced Displacement and Health (Geneva)

In addition to the global study on health, the Young Fellows of the Building Evidence progam carried out research projects on health in forced displacement contexts. They include the following papers:

• Out of sight, out of mind: The impact of lockdown measures on sentiment towards refugees
• Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Market Outcomes of Refugees and Nationals in Kenya
• How COVID-19 Continues to Affect Lives of Refugees in Kenya : Rapid Response Phone Survey - Rounds 1 to 5 (English)
• Monitoring COVID-19 Impact on Refugees in Ethiopia, Report No. 2: Results from a High-Frequency Phone Survey of Refugees
• Monitoring COVID-19 Impact on Refugees in Ethiopia: Results from a High-Frequency Phone Survey of Refugees (English)
• Do Refugees with Better Mental Health Better Integrate? Evidence from the Building a New Life in Australia Longitudinal Survey 
• COVID-19 Impact Monitoring on refugee households in Chad - Round 1
• COVID-19 Impact Monitoring on Refugee Households in Chad - Round 2
• Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Market Outcomes of Refugees and Nationals in Kenya
• How COVID-19 Continues to Affect Lives of Refugees in Kenya : Rapid Response Phone Survey - Rounds 1 to 5
• Intergenerational Impact of Population Shocks on Children's Health : Evidence from the 1993-2001 Refugee Crisis in Tanzania
• The Effects of Refugee Camps on Children of Host Communities: Evidence from Ethiopia

Last Updated: Feb 09, 2024

To address the longer duration and urbanization of displacement situations, there is a growing interest in linking humanitarian assistance to national social protection systems that meet the needs of those displaced and build capacity to support national programs.  

The global study on social protection aims to better understand how social protection systems and humanitarian systems can work together to meet the needs of displaced populations—including vulnerable households in host communities —and how these systems can improve social cohesion between these two groups.  Managed by the World Bank's Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, the research work was led by ODI of the United Kingdom and includes a range of useful output, including a summary report, a literature review, country studies (of Cameroon, Colombia, and Greece), thematic papers, toolkits, and dissemination materials, including a podcast. 

Read the report:

Social Protection Responses to Forced Displacement

Read the literature review and analysis:

• Social protection and forcibly displaced people: a literature review
• Linking humanitarian assistance and social protection in response to forced displacement: an analytical framework

Read the country reports:

• Integrating assistance to the displaced into a social protection system in Cameroon. An ideal, but in whose interests?
• Social protection responses to forced displacement in Colombia
• Humanitarian assistance and social protection responses to the forcibly displaced in Greece

Read the thematic papers:

• Humanitarian assistance and social protection in contexts of forced displacement: effects on social cohesion
• Basic needs and wellbeing in displacement settings: the role of humanitarian assistance and social protection
• Adjusting social protection delivery to support displaced populations
• What can existing microdata tell us about transfer receipt among host and displaced populations?

Toolkits:

• Linking social protection and humanitarian assistance: A toolkit to support social cohesion in displacement settings
• Linking social protection and humanitarian assistance: A toolkit to support basic needs and wellbeing in displacement settings
• Adjusting social protection delivery to support displaced populations: A toolkit
• Linking social protection and humanitarian assistance: Guidance to assess the factors and actors that determine an optimal approach in a displacement setting. A toolkit

Watch our events:

• Greece dissemination event in May 2022: "Social Protection and Social Integration of Displaced Populations in Greece Today"
• Colombia dissemination event in June 2022: Social protection responses to forced displacement in Colombia
• Cameroon event for FCDO (webinar) in July 2022 (closed door, no recording)
• Presentation of the social cohesion thematic paper at the IMISCOE conference in July 2022
• Presentation at the informal hangouts for the Online Community for Social Protection in Crisis Contexts, 5 October 2022 (public, but no recording available)
• Presentation of Greece findings at the Hellenic Sociological Society, 14 October 2022 (in Greek)

Podcasts, feature stories, and blogs:

• Fragility forum podcast
• Key findings: social protection responses to forced displacement
• Re-shaping the migration story: centring the hopes, decisions and experiences of those on the move
• Addressing the protection gap in Greece
• Protecting the most vulnerable and promoting integration in Colombia
• Using WhatsApp to collect data on displaced Venezuelans, internally displaced populations, and host communities in Colombia during COVID-19 lockdowns

• Quick wins aren’t the way to coherence between social protection and humanitarian assistance in Cameroon
• Five things we learnt about displacement in 2022

In addition, the program's Young Fellows carried out the following research on social protection in forced displacement contexts: 

• How Can Vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons Be Transitioned from Humanitarian Assistance to Social Protection. Evidence from Iraq

To improve the learning outcomes for all, including the most disadvantaged children – that is the goal of the World Bank’s work on education. This goal can be elusive in situations of forced displacement. Led by the World Bank’s Education Global Practice and the American Institutes for Research, the global study on education and forced displacement outlines the education interventions and policies of refugee-inclusive education systems and assesses their impact, cost, and replicability.

With country studies carried out in Colombia, Chad, Sudan, Uganda, Jordan, and Pakistan, the studies analyzed how education systems can strengthen their preparedness and resilience, to deliver education for both displaced and host children in the short-term and the long-term.

The findings of the education global study were presented at an event jointly organized by UNHCR and the World Bank in Geneva, Switzerland. To learn more about the study results, read the set of reports, blogs, and presentations.  

Global reports

• Forced Displacement and Education: Building the Evidence for What Works - Evidence Synthesis and Intervention Map
• Forced Displacement and Education: Case Study Summary

Country studies

• Forced Displacement and Education: Building the Evidence for What Works - Case Study from Colombia
• Forced Displacement and Education: Building the Evidence for What Works - Case Study from Jordan
• Case Study from Pakistan
• Forced Displacement and Education: Building the Evidence for What Works - Case Study from Chad

Blogs

• What is the cost of educating refugee children? A well-funded, effective education system for all
• What works to support inclusion: Four key findings from country case studies

Presentations

• Including Forcibly Displaced Children in National Education Systems: Evidence on What Works
• Integrating Refugees and IDPs into National Education Systems: Three Challenges and Approaches
• Forced Displacement and Education: Building the Evidence for What Works

In addition to the global study on education, the program's Young Fellows carried out research on displaced learners' access to education. The studies include:

• Integration of Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Brazil
• The Effects of Refugee Camps on Children of Host Communities: Evidence from Ethiopia
• How Do Shocks Affect Enrollment in Faith-Based Schools?: Evidence from West Africa

Last Updated: Jan 17, 2024

What is the impact of forced displacement on labor markets in host communities?  What is the impact of jobs interventions in the context of forced displacement and which of these programs and interventions is most cost-effective? These questions steered the Global Questions study on jobs, which was managed by the World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice and undertaken by two research partners: a consortium of organizations led by the FAFO Research Institute of Norway, and Oxford Policy Management (OPM) in the United Kingdom.

The global study on jobs in situations of forced displacement examines the cost effectiveness of proposed livelihood and jobs interventions in a displacement context and the high-level advocacy and policy or legal changes required to make refugees self-reliant. The first part of the jobs global study focused on four countries as case studies: Colombia, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Uganda and collected data on labor market impact in a harmonized fashion to obtain results of global relevance. The second part of the global study covered South Sudan, Mali, Kenya, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Complementing a literature review and the analysis is a database of cost, output, and impact data of the projects and interventions funded by the World Bank, FCDO, or UNHCR. The subsequent report presents the results of qualitative data, covering the period between 2009 and 2019, for 109 interventions and the analysis of available cost data for 63 of these interventions. 

Read the reports:

• Cost-Effectiveness of Jobs Projects in Conflict and Forced Displacement Contexts
• The Labor Market Impact of Forced Displacement (Executive Summary) 
• How to Cope with a Refugee Shock? Evidence from Uganda

Explore the novel database:

• Database (download .xlsx file)

Read the blogs:

• How much does it cost to support jobs in conflict and displacement contexts?

Watch the events:

• Labor Market Impacts and Jobs