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Innovation and self-sufficiency at the heart of refugee resources

by Nicholas Rutherford | AidEx
Thursday, 20 June 2013 07:15 GMT

Syrian refugees wait to charge their mobile phones at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, August 3, 2012. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Refugees need resources to support them in their efforts to become self-sufficient

Every day hundreds of Syrians are crossing the border seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries.

The number of refugees fleeing Syria's civil war has reached 1.6 million and the scale of the exodus is increasing at an alarming rate. By the end of 2013, half of Syria’s population will need humanitarian aid, according to the UN.

Most refugees fleeing a conflict that has ravaged their country for more than two years and claimed more than 80,000 lives can bring virtually nothing with them as they cross the border. Once they arrive at one of the refugee camps, they urgently need shelter, food, clean water and medical care.

The UN has recently appealed for billions of dollars to help improve conditions in the refugee camps, but humanitarian funding for the Syrian crisis has been consistently disproportionate to the needs. Providing safe water, appropriate sanitation facilities and access to healthcare has proven difficult. As numbers increase and resources dwindle, delays in water delivery have sparked riots, notably in Jordan, which hosts nearly half a million Syrian refugees and is already one of the most water scarce countries in the world.

Today, as we observe World Refugee Day, humanitarian communities around the world are assessing ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of aid delivery to millions of refugees around the world. Clearly, when an emergency strikes, the priority is to keep people alive. But too often people get trapped in refugee camps for years and the traditional paradigm based largely on logic of charity is often unsustainable. Furthermore, it can lead to dependency while undermining people’s capacity to help themselves. 

The key is to move from short-term relief to long-term development and self-sufficiency - by embracing new approaches to aid with innovation at its core. As a case in point, UNHCR’s Light Years Ahead campaign, aims to provide solar lighting and fuel-efficient stoves for more than 450,000 refugees in seven African countries.Solar technology is also being used at the world’s largest refugee camp – Dadaab in Kenya. Oxfam approached AidEx exhibitor Lorentz to install a sun powered-pump providing drinkable water and improve sanitation services. This is estimated to save $10,000 a year in operating costs compared to diesel-fuelled generators and is protected from supply-chain breaks. 

Another current example of aid innovation is the Sunlite Solar lantern, which can also be used to charge mobile phones, and won last year’s AidEx Aid Innovation Challenge award. The lantern is used by a quarter of a million people around the globe and has recently been provided to 50,000 Syrian refugees. For refugees, reliable sources of light are vital to improve safety for vulnerable groups, and allow work and study to be performed in off-grid locations.

Similarly, access to a mobile phone is essential for keeping in touch with loved-ones, sharing life-saving information about potential approaching dangers, and reporting on current conditions to the wider international community. Ericsson and Refugees United found that only 2% of refugees have access to computers and the Internet, whilst 40% had access to a mobile phone.

I am encouraged by UNHCR Innovation recently launching the Humanitarian Innovation Project in partnership with Oxford University and Return on Innovation, a US-based not-for-profit organisation, to research the role of technology, innovation, and private sector in refugee protection. Refugees have demonstrated the abilities, aspirations and entrepreneurial skills to quickly become self-sufficient. The responsibility of the global community is to provide the resources to make this happen.

Nicholas Rutherford is the event director of AidEx, an annual forum for humanitarian and development professionals. He is passionate about helping the aid community find ways to deliver humanitarian assistance more efficiently and effectively.

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