UNHCR’s field office in Damascus has a promising model for improving aid agency interactions with urban refugee communities. The approach demonstrates that women are essential allies for those seeking to protect displaced populations. Often leaders in the refugees’ efforts to help themselves, women have credibility in their communities derived from informal leadership. That credibility grants them unique access, enabling service providers with whom they work to better understand the population and its needs. By collaborating with women as liaisons, UNHCR has improved outreach, follow-up, service delivery, standing within the community, and the overall security environment.
Resource collections
- Accountability to affected populations (AAP)
- Evaluating humanitarian action
- Monitoring of humanitarian action
- Topics
- UN Habitat - Urban Response Collection
- Urban Response - Urban Crisis Preparedness and Risk Reduction
- Urban Response Collection - Community Engagement and Social Cohesion
- Urban Response Collection - Economic Recovery
- Urban Response Collection - Environment and Climate Change
- Urban Response Collection - Housing, Land and Property
- Urban Response Collection - Urban Crisis Response, Recovery and Reconstruction
- Urban Response Collection - Urban Resilience