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Refugee Access to Higher Education in Canada

Refugee Access to Higher EducationInvesting in refugee access to higher education in colleges and universities is one of Canada’s most powerful, underused tools for helping displaced people move from basic survival to stable, dignified lives and for advancing global poverty reduction from within Canada’s borders. Refugees are disproportionately affected by poverty, both before resettlement and after arrival, and many families struggle to afford housing, food and education in host countries. In this context, refugee access to higher education in Canada is emerging as a crucial pathway from emergency support to long-term inclusion, reducing poverty risk for newcomers and strengthening their ability to support relatives living in crisis situations abroad.

From Survival to Stability Through Education

Across Canada, about 20% of refugees of working age enroll in a college or university program within their first year in the country, far below the participation of other immigrant groups. Refugees who access Canadian post-secondary education witness drastic gains in employment and income. A longitudinal study showed that 84% of government-assisted refugees and 89% of privately sponsored refugees who pursued post-secondary studies were employed within eight years of their arrival, compared to 57% and 66% who did not.

These outcomes highlight how access to higher education can significantly improve employment prospects and earnings over time for refugees. These labor outcomes can directly translate into reduced poverty risk for refugee households and better financial support sent to relatives who are living in crisis situations abroad. Globally, remittances from migrants and refugees to low- and middle-income countries have become one of the largest sources of external finance, often exceeding official development assistance in many countries (p. 4). This illustrates how better jobs in Canada can contribute to poverty reduction worldwide. As refugees gradually move from precarious, low-wage jobs into stable higher-wage positions, they obtain the income, networks and confidence to contribute to the development of their country of origin through remittances, business links and advocacy. In this way, Canada’s higher education system functions as an engine of global development policy that works through students rather than through large aid programs, with this pathway serving as a particularly high-impact lever for poverty reduction.

Barriers to Post-Secondary Access

Despite this potential, many refugees face hard barriers on the road to college or university. Research indicates a cluster of obstacles: limited academic English or French, difficulties getting foreign high school or university credentials recognized, and high tuition and living costs. For young adult refugees balancing survival jobs, family responsibilities and trauma-related mental health needs, lengthy language upgrading or prerequisite courses can make higher education feel out of reach and can limit access.

Structural walls compose these personal challenges. Complex application systems, lack of tailored guidance counseling and uncertainty about immigration status or financial aid can delay or derail study plans. Even when refugees qualify for admission, they may be excluded from provincial student aid or charged international-student fees, effectively pricing them out of classrooms that could transform their futures and further constraining their access to higher education. These barriers keep many refugees trapped in low-income work and increase their vulnerability to long-term poverty in Canada and globally, since they have fewer resources to support family members who remain in conflict-affected settings.

Bridging Programs, Scholarships and Mentoring

Those walls are gradually beginning to be torn down with promising initiatives to close this gap (p. 15). Bridge-training programs through post-secondary education help internationally trained newcomers upgrade their qualifications, improve language skills and meet licensing requirements in regulated professions. These programs combine coursework, mentoring and networking with employers, giving refugee learners a clearer pathway into fields like health, engineering and education and opening doors to better-paid, more secure jobs that reduce poverty risk over the long term.

Targeted scholarships and sponsorship schemes are also expanding refugee access to Canadian campuses. The Student Refugee Program, coordinated by World University Service of Canada (WUSC), resettles more than 150 refugee youth to Canada each year and provides them with a full year of financial and social support as they begin university or college studies. Local WUSC committees, which are often led by students, offer day-to-day mentoring, help with housing and language practice, and a built-in community that reduces isolation to improve retention. Early evaluations show that graduates of such programs transition into stable employment and leadership roles at higher rates, multiplying the impact of each sponsored student over a lifetime and demonstrating how targeted initiatives can widen access to higher education. As these graduates move into professional careers, their ability to support relatives in low-income and crisis-affected countries grows, creating a direct link between refugee education in Canada and global poverty reduction.

Why Refugee Education Is Smart Poverty Policy

The facts are overwhelming: refugees who are able to study in Canada are much more likely to find decent work and to avoid poverty in the long term. Compared to other immigrant groups, the employment and earnings premium for refugees with a Canadian post-secondary degree is significantly higher, which means that every additional seat a refugee student occupies in a post-secondary program will yield disproportionately large benefits.

The investment in refugee access to colleges and universities is not just a humanitarian imperative but a high-leverage poverty reduction strategy that transcends Canada’s borders for a country that is dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals. Canada can use its campuses to launch the next generation of refugee nurses, engineers, teachers and advocates through scaling up bridging programs, scholarships and community-based mentoring. This establishes a ripple effect of people who will help families and communities rise out of poverty, both in their new home and in their countries of origin, and it reinforces the notion that refugee access to higher education in Canada is one of the country’s most effective, underutilized poverty reduction tools.

– Charles Bakar

Charles is based in Montréal, Canada and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

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The Exploitation of Agricoltural Refugee Labor in Italy

Man in hoodie carrying a cardboard box outdoors, representing refugee labour in Italy.The death of four migrant farmworkers in Amendolara, Calabria, on June 1, 2026, shocked Italy. It renewed attention on one of the country’s most persistent human rights issues: the exploitation of refugee labor in Italy. According to reports, the caporali (illegal labor recruiters) killed the workers after they refused to continue working without pay. The tragedy sparked renewed calls from NGOs and institutions for stronger protections for migrant workers and stricter enforcement against labor exploitation.

Thousands of refugees arrive in Italy every year, hoping for safety and economic stability, only to struggle against poverty, insecure employment, and exploitation. Many flee conflict, persecution, or extreme poverty in their countries, only to find themselves trapped in another cycle of deprivation in Europe. Without legal documents, stable housing, and access to regular employment, refugees are particularly vulnerable to abuse in sectors such as agriculture.

How Poverty Fuels Refugee Labor Exploitation

Agriculture is one of the sectors where the exploitation of refugee labor in Italy is most widespread due to the phenomenon known as Caporalato. This illegal system relies on intermediaries, known as caporali, who recruit vulnerable workers for farms while charging illegal fees, withholding wages, threatening workers, or exposing them to unsafe conditions.

Refugees and undocumented migrants often accept these conditions because they have few alternatives. Without residence permits or formal employment contracts, they are excluded from labor protections, health care, and social security. Fear of deportation or losing future opportunities to regularize their status discourages many workers from reporting abuse.

This exploitation reinforces global poverty rather than reducing it. Refugees seeking better economic opportunities often remain trapped in low-paid informal work, making it difficult to escape poverty, support their families, or build long-term stability. The result is a cycle in which vulnerability continues across borders.

Organizations Mobilizing for Migrants’ Rights

The situation of refugees is challenging, but some organizations work to improve their conditions and offer solutions to break the poverty cycle.

SIPLA (Integrated Protection System for Agricultural Workers) focuses on protecting migrants from Caporalato in Italy. It is divided into SIPLA North and SIPLA South to address slightly different needs. SIPLA operates locally, creating projects for assistance and training on workers’ rights, and nationally by promoting agreements with companies and large-scale distribution.

By the end of 2022, the Sipla North project reached 1,829 agricultural workers, opened 45 new help desks to assist migrants, and employed over 100 workers to assist exploited refugees. The project fostered collaboration between organizations with the same objective of ensuring respect for agricultural workers.

MILMAT, co-founded by the European Union, promotes labor and social integration on farms and ensures workers’ rights. The project fosters knowledge of rights and promotes the recruitment and respect of migrants. It also creates channels of communication between employers and workers to control discrimination and ensure commitment to work.

Government Action Against Exploitation

Italy has promoted the Decree Primo Maggio to address labor exploitation. Recent government initiatives include regulations aimed at combating digital forms of Caporalato, increasing transparency in recruitment processes, and simplifying access to legal work permits through digital platforms.

Although these reforms alone cannot eliminate exploitation, they represent important steps toward improving oversight and making legal employment more accessible for migrant workers.

– Ilaria Alberti

Ilaria is based in Dublin, Ireland and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Refugee Art Initiatives Creating Change Across Borders

Group of people viewing vibrant mural; part of refugee art initiatives.Refugee art initiatives act as a creative outlet that transcends language barriers and social structures, giving refugees opportunities to heal and rebuild their lives. Through art-based education and community initiatives, displaced people express themselves, strengthen identity and promote intercultural understanding. These programs demonstrate how art creates change across borders by supporting resilience, emotional recovery and community cohesion.

Art and Identity in Long-Term Exile

With the average refugee exile lasting around 20 years, creating environments that encourage creativity, expression and education is essential. Refugee art initiatives help ensure that the 6.6 million people living in refugee camps not only survive but also develop socially and emotionally.

Placing art at the center of therapeutic support helps refugees understand their feelings, thoughts and actions. Art allows displaced people to access activism, gain autonomy and influence the world around them, even after their lives have been drastically disrupted. For many refugees, artistic expression becomes a way to reclaim agency in environments where personal choice is often restricted.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), art-based interventions now serve as psychosocial services that improve mental well-being, reduce stress and support emotional stability among displaced populations. These initiatives show how art strengthens identity and improves mental health outcomes among refugees.

Fabric of Women’s Resilience

Through collaboration between Artolution, the United Nations (U.N.) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bangladeshi, Greek, Jordanian and Ugandan refugee women created the Fabric of Women’s Resilience mural. This project stands as a clear example of refugee art initiatives that unite communities through shared experiences. The mural highlights how women use creativity to challenge social norms, advocate for rights and share stories that are often overlooked in humanitarian narratives.

Each group contributed artwork to express their experiences as displaced women and to advocate for equality. The key themes throughout the mural include promoting maternal health care in Bangladesh, challenging gender stereotypes in Jordan, sharing personal experiences in Greece and highlighting connections to communities in Uganda.

Created by 12 refugee women, the mural is a clear example of how art unites and connects communities through shared experiences. It amplifies women’s voices and demonstrates the impact these projects can have on community cohesion. By showcasing diverse cultural perspectives, the mural encourages viewers to recognize the shared humanity within refugee experiences.

Out of Place: Testimony From Refugee Camps

The Out of Place exhibition documents life in 18 of the world’s largest refugee camps through photography, video, installations and research. Featuring the work of 264 artists, the project shows how refugee experiences defy borders and challenges the tendency for displaced people to be forgotten.

The exhibition humanizes the people within the camps who often risk being forgotten. Displaced persons gain the opportunity to express themselves and provide detailed, intimate accounts of their experiences. Humanitarian groups use art to tell refugees’ stories in a way that empowers them and gives them autonomy.

With a population of 220,000 people, Dadaab is Kenya’s largest refugee camp. Ten artists from Dadaab contributed to the exhibition, but their initial shipment of artwork arrived blank, likely due to damage during transit. Determined to share their stories, the artists recreated their pieces to ensure their message reached international audiences. Their persistence shows how these projects empower refugees to reclaim their narratives.

Exile Voices: Photography as Education

Art is increasingly encouraged in refugee camps, particularly through photography. In December 2013, photographer Reza Deghati launched a photography training program for children ages 11 to 15 in a camp in Iraqi Kurdistan. The initiative was successful and led to the creation of the Exile Voices project.

In collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Exile Voices has operated for more than five years, providing art-based education to refugee youth across multiple camps. Photography workshops equip children with practical skills, confidence and creative expression, giving them tools that can support their futures. With 43.3 million displaced children worldwide, access to education through creative programs offers young people a way to build skills despite the disruption of exile.

The Future of Art Initiatives in Refugee Camps

Investment and focus on art-based education and therapeutic programs is increasing. These initiatives have gained recognition as essential tools to help support displaced persons. With new attention placed on using art as a therapeutic tool, these programs are essential to supporting students and youth through life in refugee camps. As they expand, they will continue strengthening resilience among refugees and connecting communities across borders.

These programs not only foster healing and identity but also ensure that displaced people’s stories gain attention.

– Flora De Leeuw

Flora is based in Bath, UK and focuses on Good News, Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How DREAMS for Refugees Provides Long-term Solutions

A diverse group inside a large tent, symbolizing DREAMS for refugees' community focus.In the past couple of years, the global refugee crisis has steadily grown. Currently, more than 43 million refugees depend on humanitarian aid, and as wealthy countries such as the United States withdraw their aid, the crisis worsens. While many refugee camps provide immediate aid such as food, water, shelter and medical care, they are not intended to be a long-term solution.

Immediate versus Long-Term Aid

While refugee camps are excellent for providing immediate assistance for refugees suffering from extreme poverty, they do not provide lasting support. People rely on the camps for support and lack the ability to permanently lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Refugee camps were designed to be temporary shelters, but the people who reside in them require something permanent.

The Solution

In their joint project entitled “DREAMS for Refugees,” DREAMS for Refugees Uganda offers sustainable solutions, empowering communities through innovative programs and reducing dependency on aid. are working to install permanent solutions in refugee communities. Beginning in the Ugandan Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement, they are combining two well-researched tactics.

Village Enterprise employs a poverty graduation program. This approach uses provision, coaching and structural changes to benefit poor communities. Assets are provided, and teaching allows people to use those assets in productive ways.

This program is combined with Mercy Corps’ market system development program, which allows the refugee community to thrive financially. Together, these two strategies have the potential to create thriving communities.

Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement and Beyond

The Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement was created in Uganda in 2016. After the implementation of DREAMS, the first businesses opened in the fall of 2022.

In 2023, DREAMS for Refugees expanded to Ethiopia. It is estimated that it will reach 200,000 refugees.

The project received Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Award and was the 2021 winner of the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award for Refugees.

Village Enterprise and Mercy Corps intended DREAMS to be an evidence-led approach to fighting poverty. To determine the effectiveness of the program, IDinsight is conducting a trial to assess its results.

Why the DREAMS Model Matters

The DREAMS program represents the shift from offering basic necessities to refugees to improving lives and setting people up for success. Not only does this program help the individual, but the evolution of small businesses will strengthen the economies of these settlements as a whole.

This long-term approach is especially helpful in a period of reduced foreign aid by wealthy countries, as it repurposes money to create lasting success as opposed to short-term survival.

Looking Ahead

As the number of refugees living in extreme poverty increases and the amount of foreign aid dwindles, investing in long-term solutions becomes more important than ever. The future of foreign aid is uncertain, so actions to change it must be taken now. Assisting with establishing independence rather than creating dependency on consistent aid is not only more financially viable, but it protects the dignity of refugees. If DREAMS continues to be successful, it could serve as a model for communities experiencing extreme poverty around the world.

– Julia Cholerton

Julia is based in Gig Harbor, WA, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Higher Education for Refugees: A Scholarship for Women

Higher Education for RefugeesA refugee child is far less likely than almost any other young person to set foot in a university lecture hall, and a refugee young woman is least likely of all. Globally, just 9% of refugee youth are enrolled in higher education, compared with a global average of about 42%. One program has spent more than three decades expanding higher education for refugees, and it is now reaching more women than at any point in its history.

A Narrow Door to University

The barriers to higher education for refugees stack quickly: prohibitive tuition, legal restrictions, language obstacles and the simple cost of survival taking priority over study. Women face an additional layer. For every 10 refugee boys enrolled in secondary school, only seven girls are enrolled, which narrows the pool that can reach university at all.

The result is a sharp loss of potential. Refugee girls who leave school early are more likely to marry young, less able to support themselves and their families and less able to take part in rebuilding their communities. Higher education offers a route in the other direction, toward employment, self-reliance and leadership, but only for those who can reach it.

The Scholarship Built for Refugees

The Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative, known by its German acronym DAFI (Deutsche Akademische Flüchtlingsinitiative Albert Einstein), exists to widen access to higher education for refugees. Funded primarily by the German government and administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 1992, it provides full university scholarships to refugees in their countries of asylum, covering not only tuition and fees but also books, transport, accommodation and health care. Since its founding, the program has supported more than 27,200 refugee students across 59 host countries.

DAFI does more than pay fees. Scholars receive academic tutoring, language support, mentoring and networking, and many graduates return to guide the next cohort. In Burundi, for example, former scholars run the DAFI Women Power Club, a mentoring initiative led by refugee women determined to help younger women into higher education. Grace, a public health graduate from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who served as president of the club, frames the mission plainly: “We still have to fight the idea that an educated woman will not make a good wife. But we keep moving forward and mentoring younger refugee girls and women who come after us so that they can become leaders and have some impact in this world.” That model of women lifting women is now central to the program’s approach.

A Record Year for Women

The focus on women is producing measurable results. In 2024, women made up 45% of all DAFI scholars, the highest share in the program’s history, up from 42% the year before, and 60% of newly awarded scholarships went to women, a sharp rise from 40% the previous year. The gains came from targeted outreach in places with the widest gender gaps. In Ethiopia, female enrollment rose by 14%, with women making up more than 75% of new scholars, supported by tutoring, outreach and financial aid for girls still in secondary school.

Kenya shows both the need and the model at work. The country hosts more than 774,000 refugees and asylum seekers, with the camps at Kakuma and Dadaab home to tens of thousands of school-aged children. There, the DAFI program is run on UNHCR’s behalf by Windle International Kenya, which prioritizes girls and women in its scholarship awards to address the gender gap directly. Yet the access gap remains stark. Across refugee settings, fewer than one in 10 eligible young people reaches higher education at all, and in camps like Kakuma and Dadaab the share has long been smaller still.

Progress Against a Funding Headwind

DAFI is the largest and longest-running source of higher education for refugees. That reach now faces a serious threat. In 2024, the number of DAFI scholars fell to 7,890, down from a record 9,312 in 2023, the first decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by shrinking global humanitarian funding. Demand has not fallen with it. In 2024, around 5,000 applicants competed for just 879 new scholarships, meaning fewer than one in five was accepted.

New efforts are trying to hold the line. In 2025, USA for UNHCR launched the Building Better Futures campaign, which aims to raise $15 million by 2028 to fund 1,000 scholarships for refugee women and had already secured $3.1 million in lead gifts.

Keeping the Door Open

DAFI alone cannot close the refugee education gap, and the funding pressures are real. Even so, refugee enrollment in higher education has climbed from 1% in 2019 to 9% in 2025, and DAFI remains one of the few avenues through which a refugee woman can earn a degree at all. When a young woman in a camp like Kakuma reaches a university lecture hall, the effect reaches further than her own life, into her family and the community she will one day help rebuild. Sustained investment is what will keep it open for the next young woman in line.

– Amna Al Harrazi

Amna is based in Dubai, UAE and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

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Innovations in Poverty Eradication in Jordan

Poverty Eradication in JordanJordan’s poverty challenge is shaped by unemployment, water scarcity, limited natural resources and the long-term responsibility of hosting refugees. However, the country is also showing how innovation can make poverty reduction more precise, practical and sustainable. Instead of relying only on traditional aid, innovations in poverty eradication in Jordan are combining digital assistance, job creation, climate-smart solutions and humanitarian technology to help vulnerable communities build more stable futures.

Digital Aid That Reaches Families Faster

One of the strongest examples is Jordan’s National Aid Fund Cash Transfer Program. According to the World Bank, the program provided monthly support to 220,000 households in Jordan. In 2021, it reached an estimated 62% of the most impoverished people in the country, making it one of the largest cash transfer programs in the Middle East and North Africa in terms of coverage for low-income individuals. 

The innovation lies not only in the money itself, but in the system behind it. The program uses digital payment methods, including basic bank accounts and e-wallets, to make support easier to receive and more efficient to manage. This matters because families experiencing poverty often face barriers to banking, transportation and public services. Digital cash assistance can reduce those barriers while giving families more control over how they meet urgent needs.

Turning Assistance Into Opportunity

Jordan’s anti-poverty innovation also focuses on employment. The World Bank reports that supported operations have helped 48,000 Jordanians secure formal-sector jobs, with women accounting for 52% of those placements. In addition, 30,000 people are receiving on-the-job training and more than 4,000 individuals have received training in the digital sector.

This is important because poverty reduction becomes stronger when families can move from short-term support to long-term income. Job training, formal employment and digital skills help people enter sectors with more stability and growth potential. For young people and women, these programs can create access to opportunities that were previously harder to reach. In this way, Jordan’s approach connects social protection with economic mobility.

Youth-Led Water Innovation

Water scarcity is one of Jordan’s most serious development challenges. It affects agriculture, household costs, food security and job opportunities. The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) “Scaling Up Water Innovation for Climate Security in Northern Jordan” project addresses this issue by supporting youth-led businesses that develop practical water and agricultural solutions. The project received a $570,000 grant from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through the SDG-Climate Facility and focuses on climate security, water management and economic opportunity. 

The project trained 25 startups in financial modeling, customer development and value proposition design. Seven youth-led small and medium enterprises then developed solutions using artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, hydroponics, vertical farming and improved irrigation. The UNDP reported that some of these innovations reduced water consumption by up to 20% while improving agricultural productivity at the household level.

These efforts show why climate innovation is also a form of poverty innovation. When water becomes easier to conserve and agriculture becomes more productive, families and small businesses can reduce costs, protect income and adapt to environmental stress. In a country where water scarcity affects both rural and urban communities, youth-led innovation offers a practical way to connect environmental resilience with economic survival.

Humanitarian Technology for Refugees

Jordan’s innovation also extends to humanitarian assistance. The World Food Programme’s (WFP) Building Blocks system uses blockchain technology to coordinate cash-based food assistance. WFP reports that Building Blocks serves more than one million refugees in Jordan and Bangladesh and has processed $555 million in cash-based interventions through 25 million transactions. 

This technology helps aid organizations reduce duplication, protect data and save money on bank fees. For refugees and vulnerable communities, better coordination can mean more reliable access to assistance. Although blockchain alone cannot end poverty, it can make humanitarian systems faster, more transparent and more efficient in places where resources are limited and needs are high.

Looking Ahead

The most powerful innovations in poverty eradication in Jordan are not isolated projects. They are part of a larger shift that uses technology and entrepreneurship to make poverty reduction efforts more targeted, inclusive and sustainable. Digital aid helps families survive immediate hardship. 

Employment programs help people build a stable income. Water innovation helps communities adapt to climate pressure, while humanitarian technology helps assistance reach people more efficiently.

Jordan’s progress shows that poverty eradication is strongest when aid is connected to opportunity. By linking social protection, digital inclusion, youth employment and climate resilience, innovations in poverty eradication in Jordan are helping transform short-term support into long-term opportunities.

– Adriana Carolina Herrera

Adriana is based in Mentor, Ohio, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Sudanese Refugees and UNHCR’s 2026 Regional Response Plan

UNHCR’s 2026 Regional ResponseIn April 2023, war broke out between Sudan’s national army and a powerful paramilitary force known as the Rapid Support Forces. Within months, it had become the largest displacement crisis on earth. Now in its fourth year, the conflict has driven more than 4.4 million Sudanese across international borders, with millions more displaced within the country itself. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has published its 2026 Regional Response Plan, a $1.6 billion appeal covering seven countries and 123 partner organizations.

UNHCR’s 2026 Regional Response Plan

The plan sets out how humanitarian organizations intend to support refugees and the communities hosting them across the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda throughout 2026. It targets approximately 5.9 million people in total. This figure includes both refugees and 1.8 million host community members whose own resources and public services are under mounting strain.

The money requested breaks down across 10 sectors. Food security takes the largest share at around $407 million, a sum that reflects the scale of the immediate threat: one in 10 newly arrived Sudanese refugee children in Chad is malnourished on arrival. Protection, covering everything from legal documentation and asylum access to gender-based violence response and child protection, accounts for $286 million. Health care and nutrition take $238 million, shelter $100 million, water and sanitation $139 million and education $102 million. A further $132 million is allocated to livelihoods and economic inclusion, funding that reflects the plan’s broader ambition to move beyond emergency aid toward genuine self-sufficiency.

Rather than distributing food parcels and goods, the UNHCR’s 2026 Regional Response plan prioritizes giving refugees direct cash transfers wherever possible. Cash gives people dignity and choice, stimulates local economies and costs less to deliver than in-kind aid.

Transitioning Past Emergency Response

What began as an emergency response is being forced, by necessity, to evolve. The plan is explicit that the response must now bridge immediate humanitarian needs with what it calls “solutions from the start.” In this way, decisions regarding both short and long-term intervention are made with integration in mind. This means connecting refugees to national health, education and social protection systems rather than building parallel humanitarian structures that only deepen aid dependency. It means supporting host governments to let refugees work, move freely and access services. It also means engaging development banks, private sector actors and bilateral donors alongside traditional humanitarian funders.

The conflict driving all of this shows no signs of ending. Sudan was ranked the deadliest conflict in Africa in 2025, with more than 17,000 civilian deaths recorded between January and November alone. Sexual violence has been widespread. The Rapid Support Forces captured El Fasher, the last majority city in Darfur not under their control, in October 2025, triggering a fresh surge of displacement. By December, fighting had spread to Kordofan. For the millions who have already fled, return remains a distant prospect and the current picture varies considerably depending on where they are located.

Chad and Egypt

Chad carries the heaviest burden of any country for those who fled after the 2023 outbreak of fighting, hosting more than 1.3 million Sudanese refugees by the end of 2025, projected to reach 1.48 million through 2026. Most crossed from the Darfur region into Chad’s already impoverished eastern provinces. The response plan here, with the largest single-country allocation at $568 million, is tied to a government strategy that aims to turn the influx into a driver of long-term development for the region.

Egypt hosts the largest overall number of Sudanese refugees, around 1.5 million, who live in urban areas alongside Egyptian communities rather than in camps. A significant legal development came in December 2024 when Egypt passed a new asylum law, for the first time establishing a framework for a state-led national asylum system. Partners will spend 2026 supporting its implementation. Refugees currently face serious daily challenges: rising costs of living, administrative barriers and very limited access to formal employment.

Libya and South Sudan

Libya presents some of the more acute dangers. More than 538,000 Sudanese have arrived since 2023, more than 80% of them women and children, most entering through the remote desert crossing at Alkufra. Only around 70,000 have been formally registered. Without documentation, refugees cannot access services and risk arrest and deportation — more than 3,700 were deported in 2025 alone. For many, the calculation becomes whether to risk the Mediterranean. In 2025, Sudanese nationals were among the top nationalities intercepted at sea and among those arriving in Italy and Greece. The $116 million Libya allocation is, in significant part, an investment in preventing those journeys from becoming the only option.

South Sudan has perhaps the most complex humanitarian landscape of any host country. It is simultaneously managing more than 700,000 Sudanese refugees, two million of its own internally displaced people and more than 880,000 South Sudanese who were themselves refugees in Sudan and have since returned home. Climate shocks, cholera outbreaks, food insecurity and ongoing conflict compound everything. The $362 million allocation is the second largest in the plan.

Ethiopia, Uganda and the CAR

Ethiopia has maintained an open-door asylum policy throughout, receiving more than 77,000 Sudanese since 2023. It is also receiving more than 21,000 Ethiopians returning from Sudan. A recent Right to Work Directive offers refugees legal access to the labor market, a meaningful policy advance in a region where most refugees are barred from formal employment.

Uganda, despite not sharing a border with Sudan, hosts around 91,000 Sudanese as part of a total refugee population of nearly two million. Its legal framework, giving refugees the right to work, move freely and use national services, is held up internationally as a model. However, severe underfunding in 2025 forced cuts to food, health and protection programs. The 2026 plan works through a triage system: lifesaving needs first, then essential services, then longer-term resilience.

The Central African Republic (CAR) hosts around 40,000 Sudanese in remote border regions with almost no infrastructure and very limited partner presence. Armed actors crossing from Sudan, the reduced capacity of the U.N. peacekeeping mission and seasonal rains that cut off roads for months at a time make this one of the most difficult operational environments in the entire response.

The Funding Problem

Running through the entire plan raises significant concerns about money. The 2025 response was severely underfunded, and the plan does not expect 2026 to be easier. Without sustained financial support, hard-won gains will be reversed, more refugees will attempt onward movement through dangerous routes and regional instability will grow. The appeal is not only for emergency donations but for predictable, multi-year commitments — the kind that allow organizations to build systems rather than simply respond to the latest crisis.

UNHCR’s 2026 Regional Response Plan describes a humanitarian operation of enormous scale, under enormous strain, attempting something genuinely difficult: keeping millions of people alive while simultaneously trying to build the conditions in which they might one day need less help.

– Andrew Geddes

Andrew is based in Edinburgh, UK and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Between Borders: The Calais Refugee Camps

Calais Refugee CampsThe French refugee crisis erupted over a decade ago. However, the reality is that France, and Calais especially, is still receiving hundreds of refugee arrivals, and these asylum seekers are still in need of help. There have been people living in or around the outskirts of Calais since the 1990s, the number of whom caused the Red Cross to open the first official welcome center in a neighboring town in 1999. Despite its closure after three years, informal settlements never went away.

These makeshift Calais refugee camps became known as the Jungle, which was formed by hundreds of discarded tents and shelters to accommodate displaced victims of conflict and poverty. This too was evacuated by the French authorities in 2009. When the refugee crisis intensified in 2015, another Jungle emerged, and by the end of the year, there were approximately 4,500 refugees living in Calais. Currently, this figure stands at an estimated 1o,000. The situation is improving, but the work is not yet done.

A Short History of the Jungle

The Calais refugee camps have a turbulent history, being flooded with arrivals, then being bulldozed and evacuated, before re-emerging. Starting as a government-controlled space, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and charities became increasingly involved, such as Refugee Rights. The NGO Help Refugees conducted a census in February 2016, which found that the Calais refugee camps were home to 5,497 residents, including 651 children, more than 400 of whom were unaccompanied. By November of the same year, violence had broken out within the camps as refugees began to be evicted.

In October 2018, two years after the demolition of the Jungle, Refugee Rights returned to Calais to examine the condition and status quo of the refugees, finding that mental health had declined and the atmosphere was one of exhaustion, despite the sustained efforts of volunteers.

There have been studies and reports, such as a 2018 Cambridge Review of International Affairs study, investigating the balance of governmental and charity-based involvement in handling the ongoing refugee crisis. Such reports ask whether the government should be doing more, such as taking on sole responsibility for search and rescue (SAR) operations. Data and field research from organizations like Refugee Rights demonstrate that something needs to change.

An Inside Perspective

This cycle has replayed multiple times over the last 10 years in the camps of Calais. To better understand how this repetition can be ended and the status quo for refugees can be altered, The Borgen Project interviewed an individual who worked at the Calais refugee camps from 2023 to 2024.

The Borgen Project’s source, who wishes to remain anonymous for professional reasons, worked both in the Calais refugee camps and in the U.K. with an involved charity. For the purposes of anonymity, this individual is referred to as W.

W described the atmosphere of the camps: “The sense of desperation is palpable and grew with the increasing hostility of the political environment even in the short time I spent there. During my stay in the winter, the weather conditions were brutal, promising frostbite, trench foot and many sleepless nights in the freezing cold.” W added that during the time spent volunteering in Calais, five people lost their lives at the border.

However, W continued: “In stark contrast to all the misery in Calais is so much hope and here, hope is more than just a feeling, it is a survival skill. I was struck repeatedly by the resilience and positivity of the communities I met and even on the worst days, there were beautiful moments. A South Sudanese dance party. An Arabic lesson in exchange for an English one. The offer of breakfast around a camping stove.”

There is often a focus on the desperation of refugee situations, but less so on hope and joy. Having an insight into the glimpses of community and happiness is not a reduction of the struggle of displacement, but evidence of the effect charitable aid can have on people’s lives, be that food, shelter, legal advice or companionship. This is exactly the work Red Cross provides to the Calais camps, with a project that functions across three main services: supporting unaccompanied children, providing health care and reuniting families.

The Language of Asylum

Language has become a weighted topic in today’s climate, with extensive debates over connotations, etymology and underlying meanings. The language surrounding refugees and the Calais refugee camps has been scrutinized over time. When asked about the term “Jungle,” W stated: “The term ‘Jungle’ was used by its inhabitants, voluntary workers and media alike, but during my time there, very few people used the term.” W added: “Although we now refer to them as ‘camps,’ there are no official camps in Calais or Dunkirk, only unauthorized, illegal settlements.”

As recently as 2020, videos and photos have been released of capsized boats carrying refugees to Europe’s shores, prompting dismissive responses from some audiences. Despite language becoming more carefully considered in public discourse, there is still a pervasive sense of indignation toward refugees seeking shelter and protection from conflict in their home countries.

Female Refugees in Calais

In 2019, the number of displaced people worldwide was estimated at 79.5 million, and in the same year, the number of refugees in the EU was 6,570,500. Almost 50% of them were women. Rates of underage or forced marriage and sex trafficking rise in times of conflict and poverty, making women one of the most vulnerable demographics. This is supported by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, which recognizes that girls and women are disproportionately affected by armed conflicts. According to U.N. data, at least one in five female refugees or displaced women has experienced sexual violence. A World Health Organization (WHO) report acknowledges the same, but does not account for undocumented immigrants, thus underestimating the magnitude of the issue.

When asked about women’s experience, W answered: “There are relatively few female refugees in Calais. The vast majority were men and many were unaccompanied minors aged 13-17, often risking their lives on the dangerous journeys in hopes of providing their families with a safer route. For example, Libya is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for sex trafficking, so for refugees coming to Europe from countries like Sudan and Eritrea, it is rare for men to bring their wives and children with them. Nonetheless, there is a small presence of women and children.”

The gender imbalance in Calais demonstrates the persistent demand for more representation and female-directed aid in these situations.

A Look Toward the Future

The Calais refugee camps are not a thing of the past, and though media representation may have dwindled, charitable aid persists. Care4Calais works both in the camps and in the U.K. to offer field support and organize food, clothing and supply packages to refugees, visiting sites twice a week to deliver direct aid, charge phones and bring hot tea, food and firewood, as well as engaging in social activities with them.

According to W, companionship plays an important role in supporting the refugees in Calais. W shared that communication often happened without words due to language barriers: “One day, I played Connect 4 with a Sudanese man for hours. We didn’t exchange more than a handful of words, but it was nonetheless a mutually meaningful experience.”

Another NGO, Safe Passage, has been present in Calais since 2016, providing legal aid to help ensure stable futures for refugees. Since its establishment, Safe Passage has protected 3,500 children and reconnected them with their families, granted 260 visas, overturned five anti-refugee policies and trained more than 260 individuals to continue legal advising for future refugees.

With the dedication and support of NGOs in collaboration with governments, places like the Calais refugee camps can become better-supported spaces for displaced people. Organizations such as Red Cross, Care4Calais and Safe Passage continue to demonstrate that sustained charitable and legal support makes a measurable difference in the lives of those who have fled conflict and poverty.

– Jaya Noonan

Jaya Noonan is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Global Link Teaching Refugees

Global LinkWhen a refugee arrives in the U.K., the first barrier is not just language. It is isolation. Since 1993, Lancashire-based NGO Global Link has built a bridge across that gap, evolving from a local development center into a national resettlement force.

Global Link operates on a simple belief: an inclusive Britain requires more than teaching refugees English. It requires social justice and conflict resolution, not just within refugee communities but across the U.K. as a whole.

Mission and Challenges

Global Link’s mission rests on three core strands: educating the general public on refugee matters, building cohesion between resettled and local populations in Lancashire and providing financial and advisory support to asylum seekers. Doing all of this comes with challenges. Asylum seekers may arrive from traumatic backgrounds or with no formal education, all while facing the constant threat of citizenship denial. Global Link then has roughly six months to begin teaching refugees English as a second language (ESL) before funded college classes become available.

Bridging the Language Gap

For newly arrived asylum seekers in Lancaster, access to English lessons is limited. Colleges often provide English classes through government-funded ESOL programs. However, many require asylum seekers to have lived in the U.K. for at least six months before becoming eligible. As a result, newly arrived asylum seekers frequently rely on charities and informal classes to learn English during that period.

Ryan Cove, a volunteer ESL teacher at Global Link, stated: “Global Link is one of the only places to offer ESL lessons to asylum seekers who have newly arrived.” With U.K. asylum policies becoming harsher and the required English level rising from B1 to B2, learning English quickly is more important than ever.

The curriculum prioritizes survival. Teachers run lessons on filling in asylum claims, registering with a GP, booking appointments by phone and reading prescription labels. The system aims to cover as many topics as possible and tailor them to specific needs; for instance, the process of getting medication from a pharmacy is broken down step by step.

For filling out asylum claims, Global Link works alongside another Lancaster charity, Refugee Advocacy, Information and Support (RAIS), which provides translation and advice. For more advanced students, lessons move on to job applications and business conversation skills. Cultural references create another layer of difficulty. Idioms, jokes and sayings can be difficult even for advanced ESL students. 

Learning Methods

While some refugees pick up English quickly through social media, others need graded language and visual support. Successful lessons are not always planned. As Cove noted about his students, Ukrainian refugees—mostly older women and mothers—responded best to cooking videos and discussions of travel. At the same time, local classes attended mainly by men from a range of nationalities engaged more with sport and food, allowing students to discuss their own cultures alongside their experiences in the U.K. Games also help.

There is no final exam for asylum seekers. When people arrive, their English levels vary widely depending on their home country and previous education. After six months, those with sufficient English proficiency become eligible for college classes. But success is measured individually: can the person use English in daily life? Can they see a doctor or get a job? 

This is why Global Link is such a valuable NGO: it does not judge success by a single exam but by meaningful progress that helps refugees move beyond mere survival.

National Integration Effort and Impact

Across the U.K., Global Link works to educate the wider public. These efforts take multiple forms, such as visits to institutions and open forums for refugee and local discussion. They also include simulations designed to give people in the U.K. a real understanding of the experiences of asylum seekers, such as Global Link’s “Escape to Safety” (E2S) exhibition.

This project is a tight labyrinth of rooms representing the difficulties and challenges that Iranian, Eritrean and Sudanese refugees—among others—face during the asylum-seeking process. Through its broad outreach, Global Link reached 64,000 people in 2025. Participants emerge from the labyrinth with a visceral understanding of what it means to flee home, wait months for decisions and navigate an unfamiliar system alone.

Nationally, the NGO offers a wide range of activities to bring communities together. These include sports tournaments, cooking classes where refugees and locals share family recipes, community agriculture projects and art workshops. Beyond this, it also offers workshops on critical skills such as driving and job-seeking. 

In 2025 alone, Global Link supported 410 refugees in their integration. In doing so, it creates more than just a development center; it creates a second home for refugees who would otherwise enter the U.K. completely isolated.

Conclusion

Global Link occupies a unique place in the U.K. that goes far beyond teaching refugees. It provides advanced, multi-layered ESL that addresses the challenges refugees face, supported by ongoing community-building for both locals and newcomers. As Cove puts it when describing why he decided to join Global Link, the work “lets you understand what they are going through on a personal basis… building a strong bond with an often neglected area of the community.” 

– Eli Thomson

Eli is based in Preston, UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project. 

Photo: Flickr

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Feeding a Tourism Boom: How Food Tourism Fights Poverty

Food Tourism Fights PovertyFood tourism is a growing trend in the travel industry, with travelers seeking out local culinary experiences as part of their trip. Because food is closely tied to culture and history, these experiences also offer travelers a way to learn about local traditions and connect with the communities behind them. In many places, there is resistance to tourists or migrants out of concern for protecting local ways of life.

Culinary tourism, however, offers a more accessible form of cultural exchange. By sharing food and culinary knowledge, refugees and low-income communities can earn an income while introducing others to their culture. Through cooking classes, food tours and shared dining experiences, food becomes both a point of connection and a practical route out of poverty, demonstrating how food tourism fights poverty in tangible ways.

The Growth of Food Tourism in Vietnam

As travelers increasingly look to connect with local culture through food, Vietnam has emerged as a key destination for food tourism. The country’s diverse regional cuisines, including widely recognized dishes such as pho, banh mi and bun cha, have gained growing international attention, making food a central part of the visitor experience. Culinary experiences now influence travel choices, with many visitors actively seeking out food tours, cooking classes and local dining as part of their itineraries.

In response to this demand, Vietnamese cities such as Ho Chi Minh City have begun positioning cuisine as a “language of tourism,” using food to enhance cultural engagement and destination appeal. Across the country, food tourism takes many forms, including guided food tours, cooking classes and home-based dining experiences. Locals transform everyday culinary practices into paid experiences through these activities, relying on local knowledge of regional cuisines and traditional cooking methods.

In doing so, food tourism creates accessible income opportunities in both urban and rural communities, linking cultural heritage directly to economic activity. One initiative that demonstrates how food tourism can support economic opportunity is STREETS International, a social enterprise based in Hoi An. Founded in 2009, STREETS combines culinary training with hospitality education through a free 14-month program for disadvantaged young people living in poverty.

The program provides classroom instruction, hands-on training, English-language education, supervised housing and access to basic needs such as meals and health care. Associated enterprises, including Oodles of Noodles and the Noodle House, provide participants with practical experience within the tourism sector. Through this model, STREETS supports pathways into employment and long-term economic independence, illustrating how food-related tourism initiatives can contribute to sustainable livelihoods in Vietnam’s hospitality industry.

Cooking Classes and Refugee Support

In the U.K., food tourism has also taken on a social role through initiatives like Migrateful, which uses cooking classes to support refugees and asylum seekers. Rather than having visitors consume and leave food behind, Migrateful centers the people behind the recipes. Participants lead public cooking classes, sharing dishes from their home countries while earning an income and building skills that support long-term employability.

Beyond economic support, the classes create a space where cultural exchange happens naturally, not through policy or debate, but through shared meals and conversation. For participants, this model offers practical economic support alongside confidence, language development and a sense of belonging. For attendees, it reframes migration through personal connection, demonstrating how food tourism fights poverty while encouraging understanding and inclusion.

Conclusion

Food tourism is more than a niche trend; it reflects a deeper shift in how tourism, culture and community intersect. At its heart, food tourism channels local food traditions and practices into meaningful economic activity, helping destinations not only attract visitors but translate cultural heritage into livelihoods. In places like Vietnam, cuisine plays a decisive role in destination choice and spending.

There, culinary experiences provide concrete income streams for small businesses and cultural practitioners while reinforcing cultural identity on the global stage. The World Food Travel Association estimates show up to 81% of international travelers seek local food experiences and spend 25–35% of their travel budget on food and drink.

When thoughtfully implemented, initiatives like STREETS International and Migrateful show that culinary programs can extend beyond meals to become catalysts for social and economic empowerment. By equipping participants with skills, income and confidence, these efforts demonstrate that cuisine can foster inclusion, cross-cultural understanding and sustainable livelihoods. In this way, food tourism fights poverty by feeding not just the tourism boom, but the communities behind the food itself.

– Iona Gethin

Iona is Exeter, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr