• Introduction

Introduction to livelihoods and migration

This issue of Forced Migration Review focuses on sustainable livelihoods in emergency situations. In recent years the nature of emergency assistance has undergone significant shifts. Previously, the humanitarian community tended to focus on emergency relief in the form of food aid and other short term needs of displaced persons, such as water and shelter. During the 1980s attention shifted to an approach that put development at the centre and saw short-term relief as essential to longer term development once the humanitarian crisis ends. However, this model has been criticised for assuming that there is always an end to humanitarian crisis, and for failing to address the fact that for many displaced persons there is little chance of returning home.

It is argued that since many situations are complex, in protracted emergencies, where people undergo long term forced displacement, new approaches are needed to enable people to regain sources of livelihood or create news ones. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach has become an increasingly popular model in this context.

The articles include:

• "Mainstreaming livelihoods support: the Refugee Livelihoods Project" by Carrie Conway
• "Challenges to the effective implementation of microfinance programmes in refugee settings" by Jason Phillips 
• "Microcredit: an 'oxygen infusion for a better life'" by Merethe Kvernröd 
• "Credit-based livelihood interventions in a Zambian refugee camp" by Jane Travis 
• "Microfinance and refugees" by Dominik Bartsch 
• "Recapitalising Liberia: principles for providing grants and loans for microenterprise development" by John Tucker, Tim Nourse, Rob Gailey, Dave Park and Stephen Bauman
• "Food aid and livelihoods: challenges and opportunities in complex emergencies" by Valerie Guarnieri 
• "Livelihoods of former deportees in Ukraine" by Greta Uehling 
• "Protection versus promotion of IDP livelihoods in Colombia" by Antonio Hill 
• "Marketing refugee skills: an Oxford success story" by Rachel Wiggans 
• "Livelihood strategies of urban refugees in Kampala" by Michela Macchiavello 
• "Survival to livelihood strategies for Mozambican refugees in South Africa" by Frederick Golooba-Mutebi and Stephen M Tollman 
• "The forgotten Palestinians: how Palestinian refugees survive in Egypt" by Oroub al Abed 
• "Learning from empowerment of Sri Lankan refugees in India" by K C Saha 
• "Livelihood opportunities for Sudanese refugees" by Leben Nelson Moro 
• "Skills training for youth" by Barry Sesnan, Graham Wood, Marina L Anselme and Ann Avery
  

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