Refugee Children - Protecting at-risk refugee children and families in urban contexts

The majority of the world’s 14.9 million refugees now live in urban areas, and many of them are children. Cities can offer refugee children and families opportunities not available in camps, including possibilities for... [ view full abstract ]

The majority of the world’s 14.9 million refugees now live in urban areas, and many of them are children. Cities can offer refugee children and families opportunities not available in camps, including possibilities for income generation, access to a fuller range of education and health services and more chances for integration. However refugees face challenges and protection risks related to their forced migration and legal status that make it harder for them to access these benefits. Refugee children and their caregivers – especially those most at risk – often find it difficult to establish support networks, feel a sense of community and navigate large cities to access the help that they need. Likewise, it can be hard for UNHCR and partners to locate and support vulnerable refugee children and families.
The objective of this study is to better understand the urban protection risks and resilience factors for refugee children and to explore programming content and delivery approaches that: mitigate protection risks, strengthen existing protection mechanisms, services and systems; and contribute to resilience for at-risk refugee and asylum seeking children and families in urban contexts.
The study methodology entails: a literature review, interviews with key informants and urban field assessments (survey and focus groups with children and families) intended to inform humanitarian programming based on a mapping of the urban protective environment from the perspective of refugee children and families.
We present desk review results and initial findings from the field assessments noting: opportunities and risks for refugee children in urban settings; identified gaps in information and programming; and promising outreach / programming approaches capitalizing on existing community-based efforts, local resources, national NGOs and government services.