Responding to urgent humanitarian and development needs.

• Date: 01 April 2020
• Author: Mohiddin, Lili

Until recently, the contribution of refugees to local economies was overlooked and underestimated. (1) Small formal and informal businesses contribute to creating jobs and business opportunities, enabling households to access basic needs and services, which in turn, stimulates additional economic opportunities and reduces poverty. Although both poor displaced and host populations face multiple barriers when entering and engaging in markets, the challenges faced by the displaced tend to be more systemic, significantly hindering their ability to contribute to the local economy and achieve self-reliance.

With a vast (70.8 million (2) ) and growing number of displaced people either as refugees (3), internally displaced persons (4), or asylum seekers, and the average duration of displacement between 10 years to 26 years (5), we need solutions that enable displaced people to earn a living and become more self-reliant. The situation is even more severe in least developed countries, which host one-third of the global refugee population (6), along with a decline in governments' political willingness to provide access to protection and assistance.

In response to these growing needs, organizations are collaborating with like-minded humanitarian, development and, increasingly, peace-building agencies - essentially adopting what is known as the 'triple nexus' approach (7) . This approach recognizes the importance of tackling root causes and drivers of conflict (including resource...