Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the study by the International Finance Corporation and the UN Refugee Agency on Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, published on 4 May 2018, what assessment her Department has made of the economic gains to host communities if refugees are able to work.

DFID assesses that opportunities for refugees to work in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya and other refugee camps, can provide considerable benefit for host communities. This includes through increased refugee spending on local goods and services and in some cases, the hiring of host community members to work in refugee owned businesses and homes. The findings of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) study on Kakuma, are consistent with DFID’s recent support to refugees in Kenya, which has helped build the self-reliance of refugees, including through livelihoods opportunities and greater integration with host communities. DFID Kenya has participated in a number of discussions with IFC/UNHCR, the private sector and other development partners on the findings of the study and its implications for donor programming in Kenya.