Celebrating and reflecting on the year past
In April, millions of people across the world observed their major religious festivals – Eid al-Fitr and Easter. Both celebrations mark the end of a period of abstinence or fasting, which is also a time for reflection. The sentiment was similar here at the JDC: a celebration following a period of reflection.
Following months of broad consultation and review, we launched our new, multi-year strategy. We have learnt a lot during the first four years of the JDC and we will apply these learnings over the next four years working towards four strategic priorities:
I. Systematic inclusion in national statistics
II. Targeted production of high-quality data and timely analysis to inform policy and programs
III. Data innovation to increase the quality, timeliness, and accessibility of data
IV. Operationalize data and evidence to strengthen solutions to forced displacement.
Ebeneza Ruth is a 21 year old Fitter Turner student at Don Bosco training center in Kakuma refugee camp.
In April, we also celebrated the release of our Annual Report. In total, we have supported the collection, analysis, standardization, and dissemination of 62 activities, some of which concluded in 2023.
One of the most significant is the UNHCR Microdata Library which makes almost 800 sets of socioeconomic microdata available to researchers, policymakers and practitioners. We have also identified the remaining gaps in data through Forced Displacement Microdata, a dashboard that analyses all the publicly available datasets on the World Bank and UNHCR microdata libraries that have a representative sample of refugees or internally displaced people (IDPs).
Since the JDC was established, we have also witnessed the increased integration of forcibly displaced people across World Bank analytics and programs. One of the best examples of this is the Central African Republic’s (CAR) first ever Poverty Assessment. There are over half a million IDPs in CAR and the JDC supported the extension of a national survey which allowed the poverty assessment to IDPs.
Looking ahead, we are fully engaged in building a work program that will deliver the JDC Strategy from 2024 to 2027.
Yours sincerely,
Aissatou (Aisha) Dicko
Head of the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement