Humanitarian Action for Different At-Risk Groups in Displacement - Guidance Note

Humanitarian crises often lead to significant population movements, exposing people to various risks. During displacement, people experience a range of conditions of vulnerability that intersect across their identities and phases of displacement, creating complex and evolving situations of insecurity. To effectively address their needs, humanitarians and related actors must identify and understand the capacities and requirements of displaced populations with varying physical abilities and those from diverse demographic, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds.

The “Research on the Evolving Humanitarian Action for Forced Migration” project of the JICA Ogata Research Institute for Peace and Development was developed to better understand specific needs and risks faced by different individuals and groups in displacement—those who are too often rendered invisible and marginalized in humanitarian programming. The case studies on children, women, persons with disabilities, older persons, and migrant workers, collectively confirm that addressing challenges in participation, coordination, data, and service provision is critical. Overcoming the barriers to successfully deliver and implement humanitarian assistance for diverse at-risk people in displacement relies on addressing these challenges.

This Guidance Note synthesizes the key findings from the research project and provides an overview of cross-cutting issues encountered by people and groups facing specific needs and risks in displacement. It offers humanitarian practitioners and organizations details of four operational elements in humanitarian action, with each section providing definitions, key challenges, enabling solutions, best practices, and links to valuable tools for humanitarian action.

While this guidance note is based on the evidence provided by the case studies elaborated under the project, it covers challenges that are relevant to at-risk populations in general. Thus, the recommendations for improved humanitarian programming provided in this guidance note could also be applied to other vulnerable population groups in displacement.