Field Evaluation of Local Integration of Former Refugees in Tanzania

A two-person team funded by the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) traveled to Tanzania from May 26 to June 13, 2014 to conduct a field evaluation of the local integration of former Burundian refugees. The team interviewed 221 former Burundian refugees from the 1972 caseload, including a mix of men and women across all age groups who live in government settlements or who spontaneously settled in communities within the Kigoma region where there are no government settlements. The team also interviewed Tanzanians in the host communities and officials from the Government of the Republic of Tanzania (GOT), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), partner governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The full study, consisting of the desk study and three field visits, focuses on three key questions:

1. To what extent has the programming and engagement of PRM and UNHCR promoted local integration?
2. What programmatic and diplomatic interventions, as identified by PRM and UNHCR, were most and least successful?
3. What should PRM and its partners be doing to support the self-reliance of refugee populations for whom voluntary return and resettlement are not feasible?