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FMR 64
82 COVID-19: early reflections
www.fmreview.org/issue64 June 2020

million people. Many of these are countries invited researchers within its own network
that have been crippled by conflicts and to outline their plans to analyse the impacts
prolonged political instability and whose of COVID-19 on displaced people. The
health-care systems are already severely results show that the COVID-19 crisis
underfunded. As an example, consider the has led to an additional and accelerated
case of South Sudan, which at the end of effort in implementing innovative
2018 was home to more than two million research and data collection methods.
displaced people, including almost 300,000
refugees. According to recent reports, in Adapting research methodologies
April 2020 the country’s health system had The responses collected by the JDC, as well
available just four ventilators and 24 beds as notes on methodologies released by other
in intensive care units for a population of actors in this period, indicate that high-
11.7 million, more than half of whom lack frequency phone surveys represent one
access to primary health services. As in other method of data gathering that is becoming
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countries in the region, the COVID-19 crisis more common as a result of the difficulties
has worsened an already complex socio- in conducting interviews in person. Hence,
economic situation where food insecurity, several institutions, including the World
malnutrition and poverty are widespread. Bank, have stepped up their efforts in this
In under-resourced contexts like these, the direction. After being anonymised and
direct and indirect costs of conducting the appropriately aggregated, mobile phone
tests are such that the collection of health data can also be employed for tracking the
records and information on the incidence mobility patterns of displaced people. The
of COVID-19 among displaced people is ability to measure mobility has gained in
simply not feasible. Moreover, the pandemic importance in the current circumstances
and the strategies for its limitation also have given the need to evaluate the socio-economic
important consequences for the collection integration of displaced people, and to
of individual and household-level data compare it with pre-pandemic levels.
among those who have been displaced. The widespread use of technologies in
For example, restrictions on travel and the the gathering and analysis of data, as well as
need to reduce social contact have severely in the tracking and monitoring of movement,
hindered the ability to gather data using are also gaining momentum at a global level
traditional face-to-face interview methods. as a way of controlling and limiting the
To some extent, these hurdles exacerbate spread of COVID-19. This risks exacerbating
already existing difficulties. Those the differences between the responses of
providing humanitarian assistance and developed countries (where access to new
those researching displacement are often technologies is simple and affordable) and
working in the data-constrained contexts those of developing countries. Moreover, it
of emergencies. Accordingly, the need for poses some important questions regarding
evidence-based decisions has required the the way digital information is stored and
development of initiatives for the systematic handled. In this respect the humanitarian
collection, rigorous analysis and open sector has plenty of experience to offer.
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publication of data. One such example is the UNHCR and other humanitarian actors, who
recently created World Bank–UNHCR Joint have developed practices and guidelines
Data Center on Forced Displacement (JDC), for dealing with highly sensitive data,
a collaboration between the two multilateral can bring useful insights to this debate,
institutions which aims to improve the which is of interest to governments and
quality and quantity of microdata to support institutions around the world, not just those
evidence-based policy decisions and in countries hosting displaced people.
response to global displacement crises. 3 Modern technologies are also being
In addition to the knowledge and best employed in other exercises to assess the
practices that already exist, the JDC has response of humanitarian programming to