This article estimates the intra-household allocation of consumption in refugee settlements and surrounding communities in Kenya and Uganda, and examines the implications for child poverty. Uganda is the largest refugee hosting country in Africa, with more than 1.5 million refugees and asylum seekers as of June 2022. Kenya is the third-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, after Uganda and Ethiopia, with over 555,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of June 2022.
JDC Literature Review
Results for: Kenya
Refugee mobilities in East Africa: understanding secondary movements
This article examines the mobility aspirations of refugees in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, and includes an in-depth analysis of the mobility patterns of refugees in Kenya. The research challenges common assumptions about refugee mobility, that: (1) most refugee secondary movements (the movement of refugees from the first country in which they arrive) are South-North; (2) refugee movements are predominantly irregular; (3) aspirations to move translate into actual movements; and (4) refugees who remain in regions of origin are largely immobile.
A post-traumatic stress disorder among internally displaced people in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review
This article reviews the evidence on the prevalence and determinants of post-traumatic stress disorders among internally displaced people in sub-Saharan Africa. The review covers studies in English published up to June 2023 that estimate the prevalence of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors identified 11 studies that meet the inclusion criteria. The studies covered over 11,000 participants from 14 sub-Saharan African countries including Nigeria (4 studies), Ethiopia (3 studies), Sudan (3 studies), Somalia, the Central African Republic, Uganda, and Kenya.
Planning sustainable electricity solutions for refugee settlements in sub-Saharan Africa
This paper examines the electricity needs, potential technical solutions and associated costs for almost 300 refugee settlements in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that around 80 percent of refugees in camps burn biomass such as firewood for cooking and around 90 percent have limited or no access to electricity.
Somali Refugees in Kenya: Increasing camp-urban mobility
This working paper examines the wellbeing and ‘displacement economies’ of Somali refugees living in protracted displacement in Kenya, comparing those living in camps to those living in urban areas. Kenya is home to approximately 280,000 Somali refugees, of whom 230,000 live in the Dadaab refugee camp complex in Garissa County, and around 24,000 living in the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi. The research was conducted during the period when the 2006 Refugee Act, which enforced Kenya’s encampment policy, was still in effect. Kenya has since adopted a new Refugee Act in 2021 (which came into force in 2022) that provides for the establishment of ‘designated areas’ for refugees but does not explicitly contain an encampment requirement.
The freedom to choose: Theory and quasi-experimental evidence on cash transfer restrictions
This paper studies the effect of cash transfer restrictions on the welfare of recipients in the Kalobeyei refugee settlement in Kenya, a context in which restrictions matter because cash transfers are extra-marginal (they are greater than the amount a household would...
“Yes” in my backyard? The economics of refugees and their social dynamics in Kakuma, Kenya
In 2016, Kenya hosted more than half a million registered refugees, roughly a third of whom (more than 190,000 people) were living in the Kakuma refugee camp, located in in Kenya’s northwestern Turkana County. Turkana County is one of Kenya’s most impoverished and...
Refugees welcome? Inter-group interaction and host community attitude formation
This paper investigates the role of refugee-host interaction in influencing host community attitudes towards refugees in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. The authors also explore the factors, other than contact, that shape attitudes of host communities towards refugees,...
Refugee Camps or Cities? The Socio-economic Dynamics of the Dadaab and Kakuma Camps in Northern Kenya
This paper describes the urban characteristics of the two largest refugee camps in Kenya—the Dadaab refugee camp complex and the Kakuma refugee camp—and discusses the determinants of their future growth and durability. Dadaab refugee camp complex, comprising the...
Do refugee camps help or hurt hosts – The case of Kakuma, Kenya
This paper examines the impact of the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya on the economic welfare of the host population. At the time the paper was written, the Kakuma camp accommodated 180,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan and Somalia. The Kakuma camp is situated in the...