Leveraging Women’s Community Leadership: A Model for Outreach in Urban Refugee Populations

UNHCR’s field office in Damascus has a promising model for improving aid agency interactions with urban refugee communities. The approach demonstrates that women are essential allies for those seeking to protect displaced populations. Often leaders in the refugees’ efforts to help themselves, women have credibility in their communities derived from informal leadership. That credibility grants them unique access, enabling service providers with whom  they work to better understand the population and its needs. By collaborating with women as liaisons, UNHCR has improved outreach, follow-up, service delivery, standing within the community, and the overall security environment.