Rigorous evidence of the cost-effectiveness of investments in disaster preparedness is limited. However, overall the available data points to disaster preparedness leading to clear reductions in both humanitarian costs and losses due to crises (lost lives, assets, livelihoods). While there is general consensus on the importance of preparedness, significant challenges mean it ...» more
Local Governance in South Sudan: Overview
The system of local governance in South Sudan (independent since 2011) comprises both formal state structures and traditional authorities. The three tier local government structure faces significant capacity and resource constraints – manifested in weak effectiveness - which are being exacerbated by the government’s decision to increase the number of states in South Sudan from ...» more
Lessons from Local Governance Programmes in South Sudan
Donor-funded (governance) programming in South Sudan has been hampered by numerous challenges, notably renewed conflict and economic crisis. The literature points to a general failure by donors to appreciate these challenges and to donors’ overestimating state capacity, leading to overambitious programmes. Donors are urged to be flexible, integrate political and development ...» more
Cultural Practices on Burial and Care for the Sick in South Sudan
The literature on cultural practices for burial and care for the sick among individual ethnic groups in South Sudan was very limited. However, it clearly points to the importance of proper burials among all ethnic groups: these typically entail washing the body of the deceased; it can take several days before burial takes place; and graves are often located within or close to ...» more
Youth vulnerability to violent extremist groups in the Indo-Pacific
This review of factors driving youth vulnerability to recruitment by violent extremist groups in the Indo-Pacific highlights the variety of factors involved, and the importance of looking at each situation individually. It is impossible to generalize: youth recruitment is context-specific. In Bangladesh the political situation has created space for violent groups, with youth ...» more
Refugees in Uganda: (in)stability, conflict, and resilience
This paper analyses the structural challenges, root causes and dynamics of conflict, (in)stability and resilience in Uganda, with a particular focus on their relation to recent refugee movements. The first section of the paper explores the national dynamics that shape conflict, (in)stability and resilience in Uganda. The second section analyses the refugee flows, policies, ...» more
Inclusive and Sustained Growth in Iraq
Iraq faces significant economic challenges, in particular stemming from its dependence on oil revenue and the country’s bloated public sector. Private sector growth is particularly constrained by the dominance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), restrictive regulations, lack of access to finance, shortage of skilled labour and inadequate infrastructure. This review drew ...» more
Barriers to Women’s Economic Inclusion in Tanzania
The main barriers to women’s economic inclusion in Tanzania are: time poverty (because women have to spend so much time on household chores); lack of education; reproductive health pressures; lack of assets and access to financial services; in the case of agriculture - lack of access to male labour and inputs such as fertiliser; in the case of entrepreneurship – a difficult ...» more
Mapping Women’s Economic Exclusion in Tanzania
Tanzania is one of the best performing economies in East Africa in recent years, which is reflected in improved human development. However, inequalities – including gender inequalities – persist. This report maps evidence for economic exclusion of women in Tanzania. The main source of data used is the 2014 Integrated Labour Force Survey (ILFS), the most recent to be conducted. ...» more
Modern slavery within the tea industry in Bangladesh
The main factor driving modern slavery within the tea industry in Bangladesh is the extreme marginalisation of tea garden workers, who are mostly descendants of migrants from India, by wider society. Social and economic exclusion mean workers have no alternative to working under highly exploitative conditions in the tea industry. The review found considerable literature on the ...» more
Threats to and approaches to promote freedom of religion or belief
Violations of religious freedom are increasing globally in scale, depth and blatancy. Carried out by both government and non-state actors, they range from the mundane (e.g. administrative restrictions) to the extreme (e.g. genocide). A multi-layered, multi-actor approach is needed to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief. The literature stresses that approaches to ...» more
Interventions to support victims of modern slavery
This review found few evaluations of interventions to support victims of modern slavery, even though there is recognition of the need for support services. While there is little evidence on effectiveness of interventions, the literature highlights the importance of victim-centred, holistic (multi-disciplinary) approaches to supporting victims. There is strong consensus in ...» more
Interventions to combat modern slavery
This report details findings from evaluations of a range of interventions to combat modern slavery. While there are three broad areas of efforts to tackle modern slavery – prevention, protection and prosecution – the main focus to date has been on prevention and, to a lesser extent, protection; prosecution has received far less attention. The literature indicates that ...» more
Rohingya refugee crisis: impact on Bangladeshi politics
The huge Rohingya refugee influx into Bangladesh is seen in the literature as likely to strengthen the position of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party. However, there are concerns that it will lead to further authoritarianism in the country, as well as fuel extremist sentiment. The Bangladeshi public are generally supportive of the ...» more
Lessons from the coordination of refugee responses
The literature review found little evidence of successes in coordination of refugee responses involving multiple lead agencies. Rather, it identified some clear lessons to emerge from recent experience of refugee response coordination, in particular from the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. While host governments are assigned primary responsibility for refugee responses in ...» more
Effectiveness of various refugee settlement approaches
This review of the effectiveness of different approaches to refugee settlement shows that the ‘traditional’ approach of setting up refugee camps is ineffective in many respects - particularly in terms of promoting self-reliance - and hence to be avoided. The recommendation in policy circles is now for alternatives to camps that provide economic opportunities to refugees, allow ...» more
Cash transfer platforms in humanitarian contexts
As cash transfer programming (CTP) in humanitarian contexts has increased, so has the use of multipurpose (unconditional) cash transfers and the range of actors providing them. Use of different cash delivery platforms by different agencies can increase costs, inefficiency, and the risk of duplication and fraud, so 'single cash platforms' (the same delivery mechanism for cash ...» more
Conflict-sensitive cash transfers: social cohesion
The literature suggests that the effects of social protection initiatives such as cash transfers and vouchers on social cohesion are positive, but there is very little empirical evidence to back this. This review found no research comparing cash transfers and vouchers from the perspective of social cohesion. Experience of cash transfers in developing countries, including ...» more
Conflict-sensitive cash transfers: unintended negative consequences
Risks associated with cash transfer programmes in fragile contexts include theft, diversion, corruption, security, targeting, misuse by beneficiaries and inflationary effects. However, the literature indicates that – while different – these risks are no greater than those associated with other forms of aid, e.g. vouchers or in-kind goods, and could even be less. Cash transfer ...» more
Economic Situation in Jordan
Jordan has one of the smallest economies in the Middle East, and its lack of natural resources and water scarcity make it heavily dependent on foreign aid and foreign investment. Following the global financial crisis of 2008 growth slowed significantly; the deteriorating regional situation since 2011 and subsequent mass influx of Syrian refugees has made recovery difficult, ...» more
