世界发展银行-Monitoring-COVID-19-Impact-on-Refugees-in-Ethiopia,-Report-No.-2---Results-from-a-High-Frequency-Phone-Survey-of-Refugees_6页_303kb

Summary of High-Frequency Phone Surveys of Refugees in Ethiopia

Core Content

The High-Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS) conducted by the World Bank Group, Ethiopia Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement (JDC) aimed to monitor the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ethiopian nationals and refugees. Two rounds of data collection were carried out between September and November 2020, with the first from 24 September to 17 October 2020 and the second from 20 October to 20 November 2020.

The surveys focused on key areas including access to food and medicines, school enrollment and educational activities, employment dynamics, income loss, and assistance received. The data was collected from refugee households with working phone numbers, representing three survey domains: refugees in Addis Ababa, Eritrean refugees, and Somali refugees. The total number of completed interviews was 1,676 in the first round and 1,429 in the second round, with a total response rate of 87 percent.

Main Findings

Access to Necessities

• Access to food and medicine slightly improved for Eritrean refugees and those in Addis Ababa, but declined for Somali refugees.
• Income loss was a major reason for not purchasing food, with a 29 percentage point increase in households reporting this issue between the first and second rounds.
• Figure 1 shows an overall improvement in the ability of refugee households to access basic necessities compared to the national population.
• Figure 2 highlights the specific decline in access for Somali refugees to staple food items like teff and maize.

Education

• School access was highest among Somali refugees, followed by refugees in Addis Ababa and then Eritrean refugees.
• School registration for the EC2013 school year was lowest among Somali refugees (70 percent did not register).
• Distance learning engagement decreased significantly, with a 13 percentage point drop for primary school and a 30 percentage point drop for secondary school.
• Meeting with teachers or tutors increased as the most common distance learning activity, but completion of lesson assignments declined.

Employment

• Employment rates among refugees were significantly lower than Ethiopian nationals, with a drop of 10 percentage points between the two rounds.
• Somali refugees had the highest employment rate (32 percent), followed by refugees in Addis Ababa (22 percent) and Eritrean refugees (17 percent).
• The main sectors of employment were services (70 percent) and industry (25 percent), with self-employment being the most common type (67 percent).

Household Income

• Non-farm business income increased by 39 percentage points between the first and second rounds.
• Refugee-owned businesses were rare, with less than 6 percent of the total refugee population owning a non-farm household business.
• Somali refugees were most likely to own businesses, with 9 percent of the population reporting this.

Assistance and Support

• Assistance received by refugee households increased significantly: 41 percentage points for free food, 26 percentage points for food or cash for work, and 35 percentage points for direct cash transfers.
• Eritrean refugees in the Tigray region had a low response rate (79 percent) due to internet and phone connectivity disruptions.
• Refugees in Addis Ababa received more free food (8 percentage point increase), but cash-based assistance decreased compared to the first round.
• Somali and Eritrean refugees in camps received more assistance than out-of-camp refugees in Addis Ababa.

Key Information

• The HFPS provides real-time insights into the impacts of the pandemic on refugees, aiding in timely policy and program responses.
• Data collection challenges were significant due to political conflict in Tigray, which disrupted connectivity.
• Refugee welfare is likely represented as an upper bound due to the focus on phone-owning households, which are generally more socio-economically advantaged.
• Survey methodology includes tracking the same households over time and using rewighting procedures to ensure representativeness.

Conclusion

The HFPS data reveals a mixed impact of the pandemic on refugees in Ethiopia, with improvements in access to necessities and increased assistance in some areas, but declines in educational engagement and employment. The Tigray conflict further complicated data collection, particularly for Eritrean refugees. The results highlight the importance of targeted support and the need for continued monitoring to address the evolving challenges faced by refugee communities.