This webinar is part of IPA's RECOVR Webinar Series: Bringing Evidence to COVID-19 Policy Responses in the Global South. Together with our partners, we are using this series to rapidly share what we are learning with the policy and research community to support evidence-informed response efforts. More information about other events in the series is available here.

On December 7, IPA, the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), and the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement (JDC) held the second webinar in a mini-series focused on the impacts of COVID-19 on forcibly displaced people in the Global South, and efforts by NGOs and governments to support them.

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists around the globe, refugees are faced with dual hardships of disease and displacement. What are the economic impacts on refugees during and after lockdowns in urban contexts? How can subsidized housing assistance promote integration goals? What specific challenges do Syrian refugees in Jordan face, and how has the pandemic further exacerbated these issues? What are the specific challenges faced by adolescents?

Rana Samara (Mindset), Sarah Baird (George Washington University and GAGE), Samuel Leone (UC Berkeley), and Nathaniel Young (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) presented on the context in Jordan and shared findings from ongoing research assessing programs focused on Syrian refugees living there. The studies covered during the presentations address strategies around subsidized housing, the economic impacts of lockdowns, public opinion to promote socioeconomic integration of refugees, and the experience of adolescents. During the webinar, each panelist also discussed how the pandemic has affected program outcomes. Radha Rajkotia, IPA Chief Research & Policy Officer, hosted and moderated a discussion and Q&A following the presentations.

This webinar is part of IPA's RECOVR Webinar Series: Bringing Evidence to COVID-19 Policy Responses in the Global South, CEGA's Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Global Poverty, and the JDC's Event Series on Forced Displacement.

Watch the webinar recording below:
 

Panelists

• Rana Samara, Research Director at Mindset, a research firm operating in the Middle East and Africa
• Sarah Baird, Associate Professor of Global Health and Economics, George Washington University; Impact Evaluation Lead, Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence
  • "Adolescents’ experiences of COVID-19 and the public health response in Jordan”
• Samuel Leone, PhD Candidate in Economics, University of California, Berkeley
  • "Impacts of Housing Assistance on Syrian Refugee Resilience During COVID-19"
• Nathaniel Young, Principal Economist, Office of the Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • "Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Vulnerable Populations: Evidence from Jordan"

Moderator

• Radha Rajkotia, Chief Research & Policy Officer, Innovations for Poverty Action