Since the world went into lock-down, a multitude of studies and policy papers have been published, looking into the impact of COVID-19 on refugees and vulnerable communities.

While policy papers are written mainly for donors and sector practitioners, we think a lot of their insights are interesting also to "non-experts", hence we decided to share here the links to some full papers as well as some extracts, to encourage a wider public to familiarise with the facts and data, which in a way concern us all.

Here are the 3 papers, with a focus on the Middle East, we found particularly insightful:

1. Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, The American University of Beirut AUB

IFI Op-ed #21: Why MENA Needs to Change the Way It Supports Civil Society? by Maysa Jalbout 

"These are challenging times for everyone around the world but there is not nearly enough support for the most vulnerable. We need to work together to strengthen our weak systems. In MENA, the answer lies in part in changing the way we work with civil society". Maysa Jalbout is proposing a new way forward, with input from twenty-six NGO's and Social Enterprises (including SEP, ndr) working hard to provide essential services to those most affected by the impact of COVID-19 across the region. 

READ THE FULL PAPER HERE

2. UNICEF, UNHCR and World Food Programme,

MULTI-SECTORAL RAPID NEEDS ASSESSMENT: COVID19 - JORDAN

"As part of the COVID-19 response efforts and as part of an intentional shift towards collaboration and sharing of resources across the UN System, UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP have undertaken an inter-agency rapid needs assessment (RNA) to generate evidence on the impacts of the emergency on household-level basic needs. The RNA was conducted as a multi-sectoral assessment covering a broad array of sectors including Health; Food Security; Livelihoods; Education; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene; and Protection".

READ THE FULL PAPER HERE

3. Triangle - Policy, Research, Media and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation,

GOING HUNGRY: THE EMPTY PLATES AND POCKETS OF LEBANON

"The Lebanese people are trapped in a nightmare. The deadly, mysterious COVID-19 pandemic has joined forces with the worst economic recession in decades to send food prices skyrocketing and household incomes nosediving. The result: almost half of the population struggles to put the most basic foods on their tables. Triangle proposes a radical rethink of food and nutrition security, by taking the country back to its roots".

READ THE FULL PAPER HERE

Dear Reader, 

do share with our community any papers you found interesting in the comments section, thank you!