“It has been 4 years since we first arrived, it is good here, but nothing replaces Syria, it is home”- Dhiya Sahari[i], 61 years old, a Syrian refugee living at the Harran city camp in Turkey.    Dhiya, is one of millions who fled a war-torn Syria taking a journey into the... more

A panel discussion on "building inclusive communities for common welfare through networks", part of the workshop on strengthening social cohesion in municipalities hosting refugees organized in Sanliurfa, Turkey, in November 2016.

A panel discussion on “social cohesion as a cross-cutting topic”, part of the workshop on strengthening social cohesion in municipalities hosting refugees organized in Sanliurfa, Turkey, in November 2016.

A panel discussion on “appropriate concepts and flexible strategies and tools to implement and measure social cohesion”, part of the workshop on strengthening social cohesion in municipalities hosting refugees organized in Sanliurfa, Turkey, in November 2016.

'Social cohesion develops when people accept each other! When they live in peace and dignity with each other and communicate, too!' says Yasmin Holoubi, a young Syrian woman from Aleppo. After her sister was injured in a bomb attack, Yasmin fled with her from the ruined city. Their father, a doctor... more

The Middle East and North Africa region could remain trapped in a cycle of instability without the resources to manage the current consequences of conflict and seize opportunities for peace as soon as they arise. To meet the scale of the need, the World Bank Group, United Nations and the Islamic... more

The World Bank Group, the United Nations and the Islamic Development Bank Group launched a new financing initiative to scale-up financing in the Middle East and North Africa to help countries hosting significant refugee populations, countries impacted by conflict, as well as countries... more

I have been looking for possible sources of investment and possible markets that would help both Syrian refugees and their host communities, and, as someone who has worked on the subject of the private sector for two decades now, one of my first questions is—“what role can the diaspora play?”... more

In Part II of her interview, Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, World Bank Practice Manager for Education, explains the initiatives being take to improve all levels of public education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and how important it is for children to be able to go to school, especially... more

With the school year starting in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), millions of children are busily preparing to resume their studies. Some, caught in conflict, may not be able to go to school at all; others may be joining schools in countries neighboring their own. At peace or in war,... more

"The average length of time that refugees spend in camps is 17 years." This cruel statistic has been quoted many times, influencing our perception of refugee crises as never-ending events which are spinning out of control. It has significant implications when deciding the type of aid that is... more