Using the Graduation approach to uplift refugees in a changing world: An Interview with UNHCR’s Ziad Ayoubi
Bobby Irven/ Brac
BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) sat down with Ziad Ayoubi, Head of Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion Unit at UNHCR HQ in Geneva, for this year’s World Refugee Day to discuss how development organisations should respond to the increasing rise in both the numbers of people forced to flee their homes and those living in extreme poverty. What is one thing you want everyone to remember this World Refugee Day?
Ziad Ayoubi: The current pandemic and lockdown have provided us with an “opportunity” to remember this crisis has changed the world in a way that has changed the very idea of borders and nationality. We are one world entity exposed to the virus; putting everyone and everything (economies, systems, etc) at risk. Refugee inclusion is no longer an option, it is a must! We cannot be selective, we must have a global universal response, or else we will lose the battle.
We are slowly reestablishing the understanding that global issues cannot be tackled in a fragmented way, they must be handled in a universal manner.
How can development actors bring economic stability and social inclusion to refugee and internally displaced populations in precarious socio-economic and political contexts?
Some of the problems faced in this COVID-19 crisis within refugee populations are not so different from host community groups. As a result of the crisis, people working in the informal economies are suffering loss of income and jobs, and it is impressive how social protection schemes are stepping up (over 100) to engage livelihood loss and help exercise physical distancing without falling into extreme poverty. Refugees should not be outside of this circle of social protection. They should be included in all these schemes Why is building self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods for refugees so important, particularly now with COVID resulting in major socioeconomic impacts?