Refugee and Migrant Populations

Image of children walking together in a refugee camp

View our latest work on issues related to refugee and migrant populations >>

Learn about our client services in Refugee and Migrant Initiatives >>

The UN Refugee Agency estimates almost 80 million individuals have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, and violence. Among them are roughly 26 million refugees (over half of whom are under the age of 18), almost 46 million people internally displaced within their countries, and over 4 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, and employment.

We recognize the importance of this extraordinary challenge and work to assist governments, UN agencies, and key stakeholders to evaluate programs and policies to better understand what works, and implement evidence-based interventions that protect the rights and dignity of those forcibly displaced. AIR’s research in this area includes evaluations of education programs in refugee camps and cash transfer programs.

Latest Work

13 Jan 2021
Report

Examining the Educational Spillover Effects of Severe Natural Disasters: The Case of Hurricane Maria

While debates about cross-border migration remain a contentious topic of debate in developed countries, there is growing concern about increasing rates of internal migration driven by climate change. This study examines the effects of internal migration driven by severe natural disasters on students in host communities, and the mechanisms behind these effects, using the large influx of migrants into Florida public schools in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
18 Jun 2020
Spotlight

Supporting Teachers and Students in Refugee Settings

The number of people displaced by war, persecution, or violence has reached its highest point since World War II—more than 70 million refugees and internally displaced people. Understanding the needs of teachers in refugee settings is critical to providing stability and continuity for children affected by displacement.
International Womens Day logo
6 Mar 2019
Spotlight

International Women's Day

International Women's Day, March 8, celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe, and calls attention to the need for accelerating gender parity. In recognition of this global day of awareness, we invite you to learn more about our findings and projects on women's empowerment and education for women and girls.
31 Jul 2018
Brief

No Lost Generation (Min Ila) Child-Focused Humanitarian Safety Net

No Lost Generation/Min Ila was Lebanon’s only child-focused social assistance program for refugee families, reaching around 50,000 children over two years with regular, predictable social assistance. Through the provision of a regular cash transfer, household visits, and an integrated referral mechanism, families were supported to invest in their children themselves, demonstrating significant positive impacts.
30 Jun 2018
Report

Evaluation of No Lost Generation/“Min Ila,” a UNICEF and WFP Cash Transfer Program for Displaced Syrian Children in Lebanon

Lebanon hosts 1.5 million Syrians who have fled conflict in Syria, as well as 34,000 Palestine refugees from Syria. Over half of the school-aged children in this population are not enrolled in a certified education program. AIR designed and implemented an impact evaluation of the No Lost Generation ("Min/Ila") child-focused cash transfer program; this report shares the findings from that evaluation.
refugee spotlight
11 Jun 2018
Service

Refugee and Migrant Initiatives

The UN Refugee Agency estimates more than 70 million individuals are fleeing their homes due to war, persecution, and violence. With a mission to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged, AIR recognizes the importance of this extraordinary challenge and both a humanitarian and development imperative to assist governments, UN agencies, and key stakeholders to enforce stronger, more relevant policies and implement evidence-based interventions that protect the rights and dignity of those forcibly displaced.
Image of Syrian boy riding a bicycle in a refugee camp
10 Jun 2018
Report

No Lost Generation: Supporting the School Participation of Displaced Syrian Children in Lebanon

As a result of the Syrian conflict, Lebanon has one of the highest per capita ratios of registered refugees in the world. Despite efforts by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education and its partners, approximately half the Syrian children of primary school age in Lebanon did not attend school in the 2015/16 school year. This paper documents the impact of a cash transfer program on the school participation of displaced Syrian children in Lebanon.
12 May 2017
Brief

Min Ila: Summary of Education Results After the First Few Months of Implementation

Most Syrian refugees in Lebanon have arrived with limited savings and have struggled to earn steady incomes to meet their families’ basic needs, such as food, health care, and shelter. This sudden influx has created an education crisis in Lebanon that affects Syrian and vulnerable Lebanese children. The Min Ila cash transfer program is designed to address the income-related barrier to school attendance alongside existing interventions addressing non-income constraints. This policy brief provides a summary of the preliminary education impacts generated by the program.
Women in colorful clothing in DRC
11 May 2017
Report

Humanitarian Cash Transfers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Evidence from UNICEF’s ARCC II Programme

Although the use of cash transfers in social safety programming in Africa is relatively well documented, existing evidence on the use of cash transfers for humanitarian aid purposes in Africa is limited. UNICEF and three partner organizations collaborated to deliver what was at the time the single-largest unconditional cash transfer programme for humanitarian response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based on an analysis of extensive quantitative and qualitative data collected by the ARCC partners, as well as additional qualitative data collection in the field, AIR and UNICEF used evaluation methods to investigate the effects of the ARCC II programme.
Project

Impact Evaluation of the No Lost Generation/Min Ila Cash Transfer Program for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

The sudden influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon created an education crisis in Lebanon that affects Syrian and vulnerable Lebanese children. AIR and the UNICEF Office of Research–Innocenti are leading an independent impact evaluation of Min Ila, a cash transfer program for displaced Syrian children in the governorates of Mount Lebanon and Akkar., and designed to address the income-related barrier to school attendance alongside existing interventions addressing non-income constraints.
Project

Evaluation of World University Service of Canada’s Remedial Education Program in Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya

The challenges of providing quality education to refugees are particularly pronounced in Kenya, which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees in Kakuma and Dadaab, the largest refugee camp complex in the world. AIR is partnering with the World University Service of Canada and its local partner Windle Trust Kenya to rigorously evaluate the impact of the Equity in Education in Refugee Camps in Kenya program, which provides remedial education to grades 7 and 8 girls.
13 Apr 2017
Service

Content and Technical Expertise in Refugee and Migrant Initiatives

AIR offers a broad range of services in areas that support our human rights and refugee initiatives. We are committed to applying and producing the best evidence and the highest quality work. Our quality assurance process encompasses all stages of a project, from research design to evidence-based conclusions and recommendations, to implementation and scale-up.
Project

Alliance pour la Protection des Enfants - Haiti

Violence against children is an enormous challenge in Haiti. Recovering from political instability and natural disaster, Haiti has a weak service delivery system, as well as inadequate response and referral systems for child protection. There are ongoing efforts to quell family and community violence in Haiti, and AIR is working with a variety of local child protection stakeholders to address patterns of behavior and attitudes towards violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of Haitian children.
Project

Evaluation of Generation Rwanda’s Kepler Program

The Kiziba Refugee Camp in western Rwanda houses primarily Congolese refugees who fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1996. Of the more than 17,000 refugees, over 8,100 of these are youth under the age of 18, the majority of whom have lived in the camp since birth. Despite the establishment of an upper secondary education program, a large population of young adults remained unable to pursue university degrees. AIR, Kepler, and the University of Maastricht, are partnering to rigorously evaluate the scalability, efficiency, and effects of the Kepler program in Kiziba.
4 Feb 2016
Commentary

What Can Be Done for Syria's Refugees?

In response to the Supporting Syria in the Region conference in London, Susy Ndaruhutse of the Education Development Trust and AIR's Amy West call for a doubling of aid for education resources in the region from 2 to 4 per cent of all humanitarian aid. In What Can Be Done for Syria's Refugees, Ndaruhutse and West argue that increased pledges are not enough, and that we must re-learn the lessons of the Marshall Plan.
14 Dec 2015
Journal Article

Underresourced, Undervalued, and Underutilized: Making the Case for Teachers in Refugee and Emergency Contexts

Teachers are a critical resource for children in refugee and emergency settings. This article explores field research conducted in Algeria and Ethiopia, finding that cost-effective policies and technical responses that begin to address teacher retention challenges will affect student achievement, reinvigorate teaching forces, and attract new teachers to serve in even the most difficult contexts.
11 Dec 2015
Report

Teacher Retention in Refugee and Emergency Settings: The State of the Literature

Teacher quality is recognized as a primary driver of variation in student learning outcomes, particularly in refugee and emergency settings, but few studies have examined the factors that motivate or demotivate teachers in these contexts. This article examines secondary source materials from academic experts and gray literature from United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations to identify seven key areas that affect teacher retention in refugee and emergency settings.
Project

Anti-Human Trafficking Public Awareness Integrated Marketing Services (AIMS)

Disadvantaged populations are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. AIR helps support the distribution of free materials that raise public awareness around human trafficking and connect victims to emergency services.
Project

Mixed Methods Evaluation of the Alternative Responses for Communities in Crisis (ARCC) II program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Although there has been less experience with universal cash transfers (UCTs) in Africa, particularly in humanitarian settings, they are among the more promising options for delivering assistance. In order to help fill the evidence gap on cash transfers in humanitarian settings, AIR partnered with UNICEF-DRC to compile and analyze data and lessons learned from the Alternative Responses for Communities in Crisis (ARCC) II program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Project

UNHCR Teacher Retention Project in Algeria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan

Teachers are a critical resource for children in refugee and emergency settings. Teacher quality is recognized as a primary driver of variation in student learning outcomes, particularly in refugee and emergency settings, but few studies have examined the factors that motivate or demotivate teachers in these contexts. AIR was contracted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to conduct a literature review on teacher retention as well as three field studies in refugee populated areas of Algeria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan.
21 Apr 2014
Video

Long Story Short: Why Is Education So Critical for Syrian Refugee Youth?

The Syrian crisis has disrupted the education of Syrian youth and confounded the education systems in countries receiving them. In this 90-second video interview, Amy West, principal project specialist at AIR, explains why education is so critical for Syrian refugee youth.
9 Mar 2014
Commentary

Syrian Refugees Need More Than Food

In this commentary, AIR expert Amy West discusses the need for education and job skills training for displaced Syrian youth, a need that will require the help and cooperation of education ministries, donors, government officials, and others from multiple countries.