Humanitarian Exchange articles tagged:Refugees

As part of their research in Kitgum in 2006, described in the preceding article, the Tufts team also sought to gain a better understanding of the physical threats facing women and girls living in or near IDP camps. The study team found that domestic violence against women was widespread in all the camps visited. The most common form of domestic violence is male heads-of-household beating wives or female domestic partners. The most common injuries women sustain from domestic violence include broken or dislocated arms and legs and cuts to the face, neck and upper body. These injuries are inflicted by…

In mid-2005, a multi-agency stratified survey of health and mortality was carried out in Acholi in Northern Uganda, a grouping of three districts (Gulu, Kitgum and Pader) heavily affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency. The survey, the first region-wide assessment of health conditions, was led by the World Health Organisation. Its methods were peer-reviewed, and the report it produced was unanimously judged as valid by independent evaluators. The methodology was standard, and had been used in other settings, including Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo.   Although its findings were consistent with previous studies carried out in…

Urban refugees have long existed in the Nairobi area, and international aid agencies have long been aware of them. Today, there are an estimated 40,000–100,000 in the city. Yet despite this significant presence, international aid agencies have only recently begun to address the needs of urban refugees. Why have urban refugees been ignored for so long, and why are their needs being recognised now? The often-cited ‘invisibility factor’ may have made it easier to ignore them. Like self-settled refugees elsewhere, those in Nairobi are living and working among the host community. They are geographically dispersed across the city, and many…

The long-running conflict in northern Uganda between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is often considered one of Africa’s forgotten humanitarian catastrophes. During the past two years, the profile of the war has been raised, both politically – especially with the involvement of the International Criminal Court – and in humanitarian terms, with a (long overdue) increase in presence and commitment from the international community. Yet one aspect of the crisis continues to escape discussion and attention. One hears talk of ‘rights’, ‘the law’ and ‘justice’ in relation to the situation of internally displaced people in the north,…

The Pakistan earthquake on 8 October 2005 left more than three million people homeless, and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Most internally displaced persons (IDPs) lost their houses, livelihoods and land. Either they took refuge in host families close to their homes or in Pakistan’s larger cities (such as Islamabad and Lahore), or they settled in IDP camps. By December, there was concern that there could be a second wave of displacement from mountainous areas as the onset of harsh winter conditions forced more families from their homes. Although milder than expected weather meant far fewer new arrivals than…

The international community has largely failed to effectively address the worldwide internal displacement crisis. In all, some 25 million people in 50 countries are affected by conflict-induced internal displacement. Most do not receive adequate humanitarian assistance from their governments, nor are they sufficiently protected from violence and human rights abuse. The Global IDP Project estimates that three out of every four IDPs, more than 18 million people, cannot count on the authorities in their country for the provision of adequate assistance. In addition to the direct violence that often accompanies displacement, IDPs appear to be significantly more vulnerable to malnutrition…

In many settings around the world, refugee assistance organisations working in situations of protracted displacement continue to provide emergency-level services long after the refugee population stabilises. These services are often far beyond what is available to the host population, and better than what the refugees will enjoy at home when they eventually repatriate. Meanwhile, few efforts are made to enable refugees to support themselves and develop self-sustaining livelihoods. This undermines the refugees’ livelihood skills, makes repatriation more difficult, and increases tensions with the host communities. Drawing on Guinea as an example, this article argues that humanitarian actors should develop a…

Malaria is an important cause of illness and death among refugees. The majority of today’s refugees live in malaria-endemic areas: of the 19 million people of concern to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), two-thirds live in malaria-endemic areas. Many factors may promote vulnerability to malaria illness and death among refugees. As other articles in this issue describe, pregnant women and young children are particularly at risk of severe illness and death: in many refugee situations, women of child-bearing age and children make up the majority of the population. Refugee camps are often sited on marginal lands that…

Over the past five years, Community-based Therapeutic Care (CTC) has carved a niche for itself as an effective and sustainable way of providing selective feeding services in emergencies. From its first implementation in Ethiopia in 2001, CTC has sought to break away from traditional centre-based, inpatient treatment of severe acute malnutrition. The results so far have been very positive; CTC programmes in Malawi, Ethiopia and South Sudan have consistently shown high coverage, high recovery and low defaulter rates. Much of this success can be attributed to the active role that beneficiary communities have played in the planning, implementation and handing-over…

This issue of Humanitarian Exchange focuses on the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Since conflict began in early 2003, an estimated 180,000–400,000 people have died as a result of violence. The crisis has been labelled ‘genocide’ by the United States, the first time that this has happened since Rwanda in 1994. Yet legal and political recognition of the extent of the suffering has not translated into a robust and effective response. UN Security Council discussions and resolutions, diplomatic activity and the threat of sanctions have yielded some significant improvements in humanitarian access. Peacekeepers from the African Union (AU) have also been…