From humanitarian aid by wealthy governments to remittances from diaspora communities, responses to forced displacement are shaped by funding from an array of actors, in ways that express those actors’ interests and priorities. In recent years, new actors and new financing approaches have emerged. At the same time, traditional government-led and community mutual aid financing sources are evolving, and there is a growing movement towards the localisation of funding that has generated vital discussions about the relationship between funding and power.
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FMR 74
Financing displacement response
November 2024
From humanitarian aid by wealthy governments to remittances from diaspora communities, responses to forced displacement are shaped by funding from an array of actors, in ways that express those actors’ interests and priorities. In recent years, new actors and new financing approaches have emerged. What do these shifts mean for forcibly displaced people and displacement response strategies? How does displacement response financing interact with the choices of forcibly displaced people and their communities, with local and global economies, and with broader geopolitical events and trends? This issue advances understanding of these questions and others.
There will be an online launch event for this issue on Thursday 12th December at 13:00 UTC (60 minutes). Register for the launch event
FMR 74
Financing displacement response
November 2024
From humanitarian aid by wealthy governments to remittances from diaspora communities, responses to forced displacement are shaped by funding from an array of actors, in ways that express those actors’ interests and priorities. In recent years, new actors and new financing approaches have emerged. What do these shifts mean for forcibly displaced people and displacement response strategies? How does displacement response financing interact with the choices of forcibly displaced people and their communities, with local and global economies, and with broader geopolitical events and trends? This issue advances understanding of these questions and others.
There will be an online launch event for this issue on Thursday 12th December at 13:00 UTC (60 minutes). Register for the launch event
Contents
From the Editors
Foreword by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Financing for forced displacement response is not fit for purpose. The needs of refugees and their host communities far outstrip resources while displacement only grows. The international community continues to facilitate an aid model that was built by a small group of people as a band-aid to address short-term problems. Despite numerous calls for a transformation of the humanitarian and development system, this aid model has not yet shifted to meet today’s reality of protracted, large-scale displacement crises. We cannot keep relying on and supporting this unfit system that encourages traditional actors to do more of the same, especially when funding is scarce. The countries and communities that receive slowly diminishing resources from donors each year – instead of there being a collective radical rethink of the aid complex – are only being hurt by this approach.
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Changing the game: the World Bank’s contribution to forced displacement response
The World Bank has become a prominent player in forced displacement response. The Bank could strengthen its contribution further through better coordination with humanitarian agencies and more meaningful refugee participation.
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Empowering Syrian refugee women: the impact of Gulf donors’ humanitarian funding
Funding from the Gulf for refugee women’s empowerment could enhance self-reliance and women’s autonomy through flexible and innovative economic solutions, yet it risks reinforcing traditional gender roles and perpetuating inequalities.
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Reverse remittances as a new normal for Ukraine: evidence from Germany and Austria
The Russian invasion has prompted a new phenomenon: significant reverse remittances from within Ukraine to displaced Ukrainians in other countries. This has implications for the individual recipients, host countries and for Ukraine itself.
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Community support in underfunded refugee camps: stories from Aysaita and Dadaab
Refugees living in Aysaita camp in Ethiopia and Dadaab in Kenya struggle to meet their own basic needs. Despite severe hardship, interviewees describe sharing the little they have with others in more severe need.
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Who holds the purse strings in online crowdfunding for Palestinian organisations?
To avoid restrictive institutional funding policies, Palestinian organisations are turning to online crowdfunding. However, this source of funds also has limitations and places power in the hands of corporations and individual donors.
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Beyond indicators: lessons from financing the Jordan Compact
The Jordan Compact promised ‘win-win’ solutions for Syrians and the Jordanian government, allowing Syrians to work and boosting Jordan’s economy. However, the Compact’s financing structures have led to limited change for Syrian refugees.
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Refugee bonds: social impact investment and implications for international protection
Refugee bonds have the potential to complement public sector funds and support refugee host countries’ economic development, but an emphasis on refugees’ contributions to the labour market may jeopardise the protection offered to them.
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Rethinking financing approaches to support IDPs: learning from Afghanistan
Financing support for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan is challenging. An emphasis on local integration, involving local actors, the private sector, the diaspora community and climate finance could offer a way forward.
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Refugees serving refugees: financing refugee-led organisations in Egypt
International donors’ requirements can prevent refugee-led organisations (RLOs) from accessing funding. Yet, as RLOs in Egypt demonstrate, direct finance for RLOs can deliver efficient, cost-effective and sustainable displacement response.
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Participatory philanthropy in Asia-Pacific – a case study of an RLO-to-RLO fund
What does participatory philanthropy look like in practice? This article discusses the process of setting up the Asia Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR) pooled fund for refugee-led organisations in the region.
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Lessons from the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative’s grant-making model
Independent research into the practices of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI) identified the value and impact of its participatory grant-making approach as well as opportunities to deepen accessibility and accountability.
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Failure to recognise, integrate and fund RLOs within displacement response
Refugee-led organisations (RLOs) play a vital role in displacement response, but they could have far greater impact if they received more funding. The humanitarian system must adapt to recognise and finance RLOs within the localisation agenda.
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From crisis to opportunity: the power and potential of refugee-lens investing
How can investments support and harness the economic potential of forcibly displaced people? The refugee-lens investing movement offers a means to connect investors with businesses that support improvements in the lives of refugees.
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Multilateral development banks’ role in solutions to disaster displacement
Multilateral development banks can play an instrumental role in solutions to displacement linked with disasters, through investments in mitigation, climate adaptation and infrastructure to build communities’ long-term resilience.
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An insurance model for financing climate displacement
People displaced due to climate impacts are owed financial reparations, but there is no one party responsible. An insurance model, whereby primary and ancillary contributors to climate change pay in to a fund, offers a way forward.
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Money changes everything: leveraging climate finance for human mobility
The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage presents an opportunity to increase the climate finance streams that support work on human mobility. Concerted efforts are needed to ensure that climate migrants are involved in decision-making.
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Applying a multi-sector analysis to financing forced displacement response
Conversations on forced displacement in many cases still centre on the climate versus conflict dichotomy, but multiple factors often combine as triggers, requiring a more analytical approach to financing forced displacement response.
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Financing Brazil’s response to displaced Venezuelans: implications and learning
Examining how Brazil finances its response to Venezuelan displacement offers critical insights into the effectiveness of these mechanisms. It also raises important questions about migration, aid and human rights protection policies.
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The unknowable cost of camps: implications for a more sustainable refugee response
The lack of transparency in where and how humanitarian WASH funding is spent on Syrian refugees in Jordan impacts the potential to plan a more sustainable, cost-efficient response and raises questions for the sector.
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Making the ‘new normal’ of humanitarian funding work for displaced communities
The humanitarian sector is facing an unprecedented funding gap, and organisations are making hard choices in prioritising which populations to reach. This article outlines four principles for effective humanitarian boundary-setting.
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Leveraging results-based financing to squeeze the most out of every dollar
Evidence from Colombia shows that results-based financing is an underused tool for forced displacement response; it can be used to overcome challenges around policy implementation and maximise programme impact and cost efficiency.
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The impact of international sanctions on humanitarian aid in Syria
International sanctions placed on a conflict-affected State limit the ability of aid agencies to support civilians. In Syria, sanctions have had a profound impact on funding for humanitarian aid for forcibly displaced people.
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UN refugee agencies: vulnerable funding structures and a looming legitimacy crisis
UN refugee agencies depend heavily on the funding of just a few Western States. While reforming the funding system may help to fulfil the agencies’ mandate and maintain autonomy, preserving their legitimacy is crucial.
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Lack of funding in protracted displacement: a case study on shelter in the DRC
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a crisis of ongoing and protracted displacements and underfunding is forcing humanitarian actors to compromise on quality and coverage, making it harder for displaced people to rebuild their lives.
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The benefits of enabling Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to access banking systems
Access to formal banking systems would enable Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to receive remittances through legal channels. This would bring benefits for the refugees, the humanitarian response, and Bangladesh’s economy and security.
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