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Charting a brighter future for refugees and their hosts

December 14^th, 2023

“No one wants to leave their home behind but what can we do? Every day we would wake up to news that a house or building nearby was bombed, what else can we do?” said Talia, who made the difficult decision to leave the Sudanese capital Khartoum and head to Egypt.

People do not become refugees by choice. They cross international borders fleeing war, violence and disasters. They frequently experience extreme suffering, catastrophic family losses and trauma and are subjected to gender-based violence. They have often lost documents, assets and incomes.

Charting a brighter future for refugees and their hosts

They tend to be deprived of essential services and face barriers to economic opportunities in host countries, leaving them reliant on international aid for their food, health, protection, education and other needs. Women and young people are especially affected.

Talia was just one of the 47.8 million people globally who found themselves a refugee, asylum seeker or other person in need of international protection by September of 2023. Between 2016 and 2022, the number of refugees doubled, driven by crises like the ones in Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Sahel region in Africa, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Empathy in Moldova

The war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, led to the fastest outflow of refugees since the Second World War.

“On 24 February 2022, shootings and explosions intensified, planes came flying. It was frightening. That is why I decided to leave. Until then, I only saw such scenes on TV and in movies,” said Zinaida, a woman in her 70s.

She travelled to neighbouring Moldova. “We were welcomed everywhere, even at customs we were offered water, food and tea. I saw a lot of empathy. The attitude of Moldovans is very good, welcoming,” she said.

In Moldova, UNDP worked to meet the immediate needs of Ukrainian refugees, finding them shelter with dignity and helping them rebuild their lives. Zinaida benefited from language classes that allowed her to interact with the local community. “At the same time, the classes helped me overcome fear and anxiety,” she said.

Entrepreneurship in Peru

Peru houses the second largest population of Venezuelan refugees and migrants —1.5 million— and the largest number of asylum seekers in Latin America, according to UNHCR.

“When I saw the vastness of the desert in northern Peru, I was scared,” said Roselyn, who travelled across it from Venezuela. She was helped to set up a business selling bicycle parts online by the UNDP-supported CREANDO platform that promotes migrant, refugee, and host population entrepreneurs. Her business has been expanding its service and its staff. “For me, the most important thing is to hire people who are committed to their work, nationality comes second," she said.

CREANDO has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs, expanded opportunities for economic integration, promoted social cohesion, and helped Venezuelans contribute to their host country. The International Monetary Fund estimates that Venezuelan migrants and refugees will contribute to a four percent growth in Peru’s economy.

Breaking the cycle of crisis in Uganda

After the arrest of her husband in South Sudan, Grace fled with her children and mother to Uganda to seek refuge from the civil conflict. “My children and I were bruised by physical attacks of armed personnel, but I never gave up. I came to Uganda with all my children so we can rebuild our life here,’’ she said.

She still faced difficulties in Uganda meeting basic needs including medical care and education for her children. “I only got small portions of food from the humanitarian support which were not enough for my family, I could not meet basic needs of my family,” she said.

Life took a different turn when she joined the cash for work activities implemented by the Uganda Host and Refugee Community Empowerment Project, supported by UNDP and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). She also obtained business skills training.

Grace has been able to provide food for her family, save cash, pay her children’s school fees and medical bills for her mother, buy piglets and has opened a small shop. When women have higher level of empowerment, communities, especially conflict-affected communities, experience faster economic recovery.

Support to host communities in Türkiye

Türkiye continued to host the largest number of refugees at the end of 2022, close to 3.6 million people, mostly fleeing conflict and violence in Syria. UNDP works with the government to stimulate job creation for refugees and host communities, including income-generating activities for women living in rural areas.

Rabiye, a Turkish woman in a host community, has a food drying business. She received vehicle and equipment support for her hygienic drying room from UNDP which has significantly increased the return from product sales, and has been able to expand her business, creating new job opportunities.

“With this project, I became boss of my own business. My sales numbers have gone up. Furthermore, my customers from abroad liked my products a lot. When there was this much interest, I started working on a larger scale and when the interest was higher, I needed more workers,” she said.

Global Refugee Forum

Every refugee holds onto the belief that their future will be better than their past and often their present. Refugees can be vital contributors to host and home economies and communities. They can fill gaps in the labour markets, boost trade, and bring knowledge, skills and networks. They also can support recovery, reconstruction, climate action and peace in their countries of origin, helping create the conditions for return and reintegration.

Every refugee holds onto the belief that their future will be better than their past and often their present. Photo: Shutterstock/ Giannis Papanikos

Over 70 percent of refugees were hosted in neighbouring countries, and the majority are the world’s low- and middle-income countries (76 per cent).

Without the necessary international support, infrastructure and services, developing countries can struggle to meet the immense needs of forcibly displaced people and host communities, putting a strain on their economies, public services, and social cohesion.

Comprehensive responses to refugee situations need to be rooted in easing pressure on host communities as well as phasing out humanitarian aid as displaced people regain their agency. With the necessary support and resources, countries with large refugee populations can create the conditions where refugees become self-reliant and contribute to sustainable development for themselves, their hosts, countries of origin and wider international communities.

The four-yearly Global Refugee Forum (GRF) charts progress on delivering the Global Compact on Refugees. At the second Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, 13-15 December, UNDP is pledging to expand its work in over 30 countries addressing the causes of cross-border displacement, responding to the needs of forcibly displaced populations, stateless people, and host communities while creating the conditions for voluntary return and reintegration.

By investing in solidarity, governments can reduce historic levels of forced displacement, meet the needs of refugees and communities, and ease pressure on host countries and those welcoming returnees.