Responding to Refugee Crises in Developing Countries

Abstract

Responding to Refugee cRises in developing countRies: what can we leaRn fRom evaluations ? i ForewordThe OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) has recognised that international co-operation and development assistance in relation to forced displacement, refugees, and migration need greater attention. In 2016, the DAC formed a Temporary Working Group on Refugees and Migration.This working paper provides evidence from evaluations to feed into guidance on better programming in refugee contexts that is being developed through the DAC Temporary Working Group. The paper draws from evaluation findings to highlight some of the key lessons and recommendations for positive change going forward. Key topics covered in the paper include: lessons on bridging the gap between humanitarian and development programming; efforts to strengthen international response to protracted crises; lessons on whole-of-government approaches in refugee contexts; learning from work in urban settings; improving access to employment and quality education; new financing mechanisms for refugee crises in middle income countries; and lessons on financing in response to the Syria crisis. The paper highlights the evaluation work of DAC members and aims to help strengthen the evidence base to improve response to situations of displacement in developing countries.Three cases studies (Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia/Uganda) complement the main paper and look at how policy objectives have been implemented in specific country contexts.

PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of economic development interventions in humanitarian settings in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A mixed‐method systematic review

“…Our approach is based on the livelihood's framework, developed by Scoones (1998), which has been applied in humanitarian settings by both researchers-see an early literature review by Longley and Maxwell (2003) It is not always clear which of these approaches is the most effective in relation to humanitarian crisis settings where evaluations of programmes tend to focus on intended outcomes and impacts (whether the intervention worked and what effect it had on outcomes) but but not on assessing the process of implementation and on establishing how the use of a specific approach leads to changes in outcomes (Ruaudel & Morrison-Métois, 2017). Because this review cuts across humanitarian settings and different displaced populations, understanding which interventions generate impacts that are achievable, sustainable, and transferable is critical.…”

Evaluating Program Enhancement Strategies for Remedial Tutoring: A Cluster-Randomized Control Trial With Syrian Refugee Students in Lebanon

“…Such examples include the "Balsakhi" or "friend of the child" program in India where academically struggling students in municipal schools were tutored during school hours by young women from the local community (Banerjee et al, 2007); an after-school science tutoring program in municipal schools in Lima, Peru, targeting low-achieving third graders (Saavedra et al, 2019); and the support of a "Mobile Pedagogical Tutor"-recent college graduates with short-term training in math and literacy tutoring-in Mexico (Agostinelli et al, 2019). Yet governments in regions affected by conflict and crisis often shoulder a disproportionately large burden of schooling vulnerable populations of refugees and displaced persons (Ruaudel & Morrison-Métois, 2017). In many cases, governments are struggling to provide even basic education services to an influx of displaced students, let alone provide quality supplementary educational programs.…”