South & Central Asia — Publications — Samuel Hall

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HALO Trust - Mine Action in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover: Imperatives in 2021 and Beyond

HALO Trust - Mine Action in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover: Imperatives in 2021 and Beyond

November 2021

The HALO Trust commissioned Samuel Hall to conduct empirical research on mine action in Afghanistan in June 2021, two months before the Taliban takeover of the country. The research involved primary data collection in two rural villages, in order to explore changes at the community level that occurred subsequent to HALO Trust landmine clearance. Samuel Hall had also conducted four prior studies and evaluations on mine action in Afghanistan from 2019-2021. This combined research informed the development of a policy brief, which explores the following areas: the changed political context but enduring humanitarian needs in Afghanistan; mine action in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover; and policy implications and recommendations regarding principled mine action support in Afghanistan and globally.

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South & Central Asia, ResilienceSamuel HallDecember 1, 2021policy brief, Afghanistan, mine action, mining, minefields, research, humanitarian needs

AKF - Implementing the CBC in Dadaab & Kakuma Refugee Camps

AKF - Implementing the CBC in Dadaab & Kakuma Refugee Camps

October 2021

In Kenya, UNHCR are partnering with the Ministry of Education to improve the delivery of the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in refugee camps and surrounding low-resource settings. As part of this effort, the Aga Khan Foundation tested the Values Based Education (VBE) modules in Kakuma to generate evidence of how this proven approach is relevant for teachers and schools in refugee settings as they strive to deliver the CBC with quality.

Samuel Hall was commissioned to provide a detailed examination into the current status of CBC implementation in Dadaab and Kakuma camps as well as generating initial evidence on efficacy and relevance of VBE in refugee settings. This report identifies the challenges, capacity gaps, and opportunities facing teachers and schools as they implement the CBC in Kenya’s refugee-hosting areas and identifies the potential of VBE to enable teachers to deliver the CBC with quality. The recommendations and learnings can also be considered more broadly across Kenya.

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South & Central Asia, ResilienceSamuel HallNovember 24, 2021Kenya, final report, resilience, capacity building, capacity development, education, school, camps, UNHCR

Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) - Thirty Years of Impact

Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) - Thirty Years of Impact

November 2021

Due to successive waves of instability and conflict from the 1980s onwards, Afghanistan was heavily contaminated by explosive ordnance (EO). Established to improve this situation, the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) commenced activities in 1988. Samuel Hall was commissioned by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to produce an evaluation taking stock of three decades of work by the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA).

It maintains a focus on impact resulting from MAPA, while also including criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. To gather the evidence needed, a mixed-methods methodology was employed, combining different sources of quantitative and qualitative data to gain an extensive understanding of mine action results over time. Data collection took place in 24 communities across eight provinces, representing the different regions of Afghanistan.

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South & Central Asia, Data Standards & AnalyticsSamuel HallNovember 15, 2021Afghanistan, impact assessment, impact evaluation, mining, minefields, UNMAS, report

IOM - Development of a Monitoring Toolkit and Review of Good Practices for the Sustainable Reintegration of Child Returnees

IOM - Development of a Monitoring Toolkit and Review of Good Practices for the Sustainable Reintegration of Child Returnees

August 2021

This study was commissioned in the framework of the EU–IOM Knowledge Management Hub under the “Pilot Action on Voluntary Return and Sustainable, Community-Based Reintegration” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by IOM. The two recognized that while understanding of and evidence around the sustainable reintegration of adults has been growing, the same is not true for children – despite the fact that children are returning, alone or with families, to the very same reintegration contexts. Building on a monitoring approach for adult returnees developed in a 2017 Samuel Hall – IOM research project, this study addresses the information gap around children’s reintegration experiences.

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ILO – Road to Jobs: Bringing decent work to rural households in the Northern Provinces of Afghanistan

ILO – Road to Jobs: Bringing decent work to rural households in the Northern Provinces of Afghanistan

January 2021

The International Labour Organization (ILO) carried out the Road to Jobs (R2J) project 2015-2020 with the aim to create more and better jobs in two provinces of Northern Afghanistan: Balkh and Samangan. ILO reports that more than 60,000 people have recorded positive changes in their working conditions and/or income and approximately 120,000 beneficiaries from disadvantaged groups have been reached. Around USD 14 million have been generated over five years for poor-income earners and targeted MSMEs.

Samuel Hall was commissioned to conduct the final independent evaluation of R2J and assess its outcomes on market systems and local communities, using a mixed-methods approach and the OECD-DAC criteria to examine the project’s relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability in a holistic manner.

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South & Central Asia, Implementation ResearchSamuel HallJuly 19, 2021Afghanistan, Samangan, Balkh, ILO, Road to Jobs, working conditions, final evaluation, evaluation, employment, labour, rural, rural economy

DELMI – Those who were sent back: Return and reintegration of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan and Iraq

DELMI – Those who were sent back: Return and reintegration of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan and Iraq

October 2021

This 2019/2020 study was commissioned by the Swedish Migration Studies Delegation (DELMI), with fieldwork by Samuel Hall. Results are based on 100 interviews with migrants who have returned voluntarily and involuntarily to Afghanistan and Iraq. Respondents answered questions about their lives before arrival to Sweden, the asylum and return process. The study sought to actively embed local researchers and civil society organisations in the research design, to create a deeper evidence-base for advocacy and aid nuanced understanding of the challenges of return decision-making, reintegration and post-return monitoring.

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Middle East &North Africa, South & Central Asia, Migration & DisplacementSamuel HallJune 22, 2021Afghanistan, Iraq, RRR, Rejected asylum seekers, asylum seekers, involuntary return, voluntary return, policy brief, report, migration, returnees, reintegration, asylum

HALO Trust – Impact Assessments of Abandoned Improvised Mines (AIM) & Anti-Vehicle Mines (AVM) in Afghanistan

HALO Trust – Impact Assessments of Abandoned Improvised Mines (AIM) & Anti-Vehicle Mines (AVM) in Afghanistan

April 2021

Abandoned Improvised Mines (AIM) have caused over half of all landmine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the last 5 years, killing thousands . Anti-Vehicle Mines (AVM) comprise over half of the remaining suspected and confirmed hazardous areas in the country. The HALO Trust is the major clearance organisation for both types of landmines. The impact assessments were based on primary research directly with communities affected by AVM and AIM and their subsequent survey and clearance.

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South & Central AsiaSamuel HallApril 29, 2021Afghanistan, minefields, mines, mine risk, mine action, demining, impact assessment, landmines, AIM, ERW, AVM, mine clearance, HALO Trust, Impact

HelpAge – COVID-19, Displacement & Older People in Afghanistan

HelpAge – COVID-19, Displacement & Older People in Afghanistan

January 2021

Samuel Hall and HelpAge International add a short country report brief focused on the impact of COVID-19 on Afghanistan’s elderly population to a multi-partner series sponsored by UNFPA and coordinated by HelpAge International. Samuel Hall’s contribution is independent and entirely self-funded. The overall objective of this series is to broadly monitor, document, analyse and share how the situation of older people in Asia changes in 2020 as a result of COVID-19, in order to inform programmatic responses and policy advice, post-pandemic. The methodology is geared towards collecting and analysing a wide range of secondary evidence from multiple sources, including academic, UN and INGO studies; government documents and data; key informant interviews; summaries of field data; and media reports.

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Migration & Displacement, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJanuary 13, 2021old age, elderly, displacement, self-funded, UNFPA, Afghanistan, HelpAge International

Street Child – Building Alternatives: Supporting Afghan Women & Children in Conflict with the Law

Street Child – Building Alternatives: Supporting Afghan Women & Children in Conflict with the Law

December 2020

This report generates evidence regarding the effectiveness of AtDs, rehabilitation, and reintegration measures, intended for stakeholders currently in a position to implement AtDs, as well as the broader sector working with children and women in conflict with the law. The Children in Crisis (CiC) project titled Support to Afghan Women and Children in Conflict with the Law: Diversion, Rehabilitation and Reintegration is a series of programmatic interventions that began in December 2017 and will conclude in 2020. It seeks to address the major structural barriers to the implementation of the Alternatives to Detention (AtD) and Alternatives to Incarceration (AtI) measures added to the Afghan Penal Code, and the growing evidence base for positive outcomes in reintegration, rehabilitation and recidivism that are connected to successful implementation of such alternatives in other contexts, for children specifically and for adults more broadly. Specifically, the goal of the work is to enable vulnerable children and women in contact and conflict with the law to avoid detention, reduce reoffending through rehabilitation, and reintegrate into their families and communities. This research falls under and addresses the third objective of the project, "Objective 3: Developing an evidence base to influence and advocate for future justice sector reform for women and juveniles."

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Children & Youth, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallDecember 16, 2020conflict, children, Law, rehabilitation, reintegration, incarceration, justice system, Afghan Penal Code, Afghanistan, Street Child, alternatives to detention, vulnerable children, vulnerable women, family, offenders, women

AFI – Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons

AFI – Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons

December 2020

Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) often lack access to finances – including savings accounts, transfers, loans and insurance. In support of AFI’s “Advancing the Financial Inclusion of FDPs: Putting Recommendations to Practice" , Samuel Hall created a guideline note on how to better include displaced people into National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS) globally. In addition, Samuel Hall and AFI, with support from Strathmore University in Kenya, researched the financial inclusion of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to produce a series of case studies covering Afghanistan, Mauritania and Rwanda.

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DACAAR – Towards the Triple Nexus: Toolkit on Afghanistan's NPP, SDGs & Triple Nexus

DACAAR – Towards the Triple Nexus: Toolkit on Afghanistan's NPP, SDGs & Triple Nexus

November 2020

This study examines where and how DACAAR should align its strategy with the Afghanistan Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), National Priority Programs and the Triple Nexus.

The triple nexus is a continuation of long-running efforts to link Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD), going a step further to link these with the aim to end conflicts. Adding the peacebuilding side to the organisation’s efforts, will shift it from being the double nexus of humanitarian-development aid, to triple nexus with peace being “the third leg of the triangle”.

The resulting toolkit will help DACAAR and other NGO partners to identify the linkage of Afghanistan Sustainable Development Goals, with their interventions and how to contribute to peacebuilding in Afghanistan through their work with Afghan communities. It also reveals where the gaps are and how organisations can further contribute to fill them.

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South & Central AsiaSamuel HallNovember 13, 2020DACAAR, Afghanistan, Afghanistan SDGs, Triple Nexus, Relief, rehabilitation, peacebuilding, toolkit, development

HelpAge - Afghanistan Analytical Brief on the Impact of COVID-19 on Older Persons

HelpAge - Afghanistan Analytical Brief on the Impact of COVID-19 on Older Persons

October 2020

Samuel Hall and HelpAge International have agreed to add a short country report brief focused on the impact of COVID-19 on Afghanistan’s elderly population to a multi-partner series sponsored by UNFPA and coordinated by HelpAge International. Samuel Hall’s contribution is independent and entirely self-funded. The overall objective of this series is to broadly monitor, document, analyse and share how the situation of older people in Asia changes in 2020 as a result of COVID-19, in order to inform programmatic responses and policy advice, post-pandemic. The methodology is geared towards collecting and analysing a wide range of secondary evidence from multiple sources. Given the regional nature of the task and the current risks associated with travel and gatherings, no fieldwork (primary data collection) will be included, nor original data analysis. However, Samuel Hall may report findings from fieldwork and data analysis carried out by others.

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South & Central AsiaSamuel HallOctober 13, 2020elderly, Afghanistan, UNFPA, HelpAge International

COVID-19 in Afghanistan: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Implications

COVID-19 in Afghanistan: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Implications

July 2020

COVID-19 threatens Afghanistan’s many gains, from progress in access to education for children and trust in formal protection mechanisms to social norms around gender and trust in Government. With a healthcare system already stretched to the limits, ongoing conflict and natural disasters, widespread food insecurity and reductions in foreign aid, stakeholders in Afghanistan were already facing a complex and worsening situation. COVID-19 has the potential to disastrously exacerbate this. Samuel Hall is supporting the Afghanistan Protection Cluster (PC) and other stakeholders with this brief to fill in key knowledge gaps around how COVID-19 is understood and perceived and its current and likely implications.

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Resilience, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJuly 28, 2020food insecurity, education, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Protection Cluster, psychosocial

War Child - Coming Back to Afghanistan: Deported Minors' Needs at a Time of COVID-19

War Child - Coming Back to Afghanistan: Deported Minors' Needs at a Time of COVID-19

July 2020

Unaccompanied children on the move have become more common. This demographic shift calls for a transition to child-sensitive return programmes and policies – yet despite increased returns and deportations, support has decreased over the last decade in Afghanistan. COVID-19 has increased the risks of returns, and the response to the pandemic remains insufficient to meet the needs at the border - especially for children and women. This research was conducted by Samuel Hall for War Child UK and UNICEF to assess the impact of COVID-19 on minor deportees and returnees. It provides actionable learning to inform more effective and relevant design, implementation, and adjustment of future interventions targeting minor deportees.

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Children & Youth, Migration & Displacement, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJuly 17, 2020returnees, children, migration, deportation, deported minors, minors, unaccompanied children, War Child, UNICEF, deportees

The Halo Trust - The Link: Connecting Mine Action and Livelihoods

The Halo Trust - The Link: Connecting Mine Action and Livelihoods

June 2020

As mine action stakeholders work towards a mine-free Afghanistan in a country experiencing active conflict and pervasive economic difficulties, there are growing imperatives to link clearance of mines from the land, with the livelihoods and development of people and communities on that land afterwards.Samuel Hall conducted an evaluation of the programme for the HALO Trust as the programme concluded, reviewing literature and conducting primary data collection and analysis from November 2019 to March 2020. The research emphasised a community-based mixed methods approach to evaluate the programme from beneficiaries’ perspectives, and placed community members’ feedback at the centre of the evaluation.

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Resilience, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJune 24, 2020mine action, demining, resilience, mine clearance, Afghanistan, livelihoods, development, HALO Trust

The Womanity Foundation - Girls CAN Code

The Womanity Foundation - Girls CAN Code

June 2020

The Womanity Foundation are implementing GCC at a particularly critical juncture with Afghanistan charting an uncertain path in 2020 and beyond. This uncertainty extends to the role of women in Afghan society as well as the context for female education and employment. In a fast changing environment, how can Womanity maximise their impact and best work with Afghan girls to create tangible changes in their own lives? With these questions as a basis, Samuel Hall: evaluated the GCC programme from 2016–2019; conducted a context and market analysis on potential income and work pathways for Afghan girls with a focus on the tech sector and broader trends in STEM; mapped a forward strategy for Womanity to scale its impact.

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Children & Youth, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJune 24, 2020evaluation, education, girls, coding, STEM, Afghanistan, Afghan society, The Womanity Foundation

UNICEF - Social Norms, Economic Approaches: The potential for addressing GBV through economic interventions in the Rohingya refugee response

UNICEF - Social Norms, Economic Approaches: The potential for addressing GBV through economic interventions in the Rohingya refugee response

June 2020

This report, commissioned by UNICEF, develops an evidence base on the potential for addressing gender-based violence in the Rohingya Refugee Response through economic interventions, seeking to understand the contextual risks, drivers, challenges, and possibilities. It highlights the possibilities for using economic interventions in this context, in particular how programming that utilises economic strategies in combination with other elements, and which aligns economic strategies with needs and drivers specific to the forms of GBV they seek to address based on strong contextual understandings, are likely to be the most successful in creating sustainable impacts for women and girls, and communities more broadly.

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Children & Youth, Resilience, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJune 23, 2020gender-based violence, UNICEF, Rohingya, Bangladesh, cash transfer

World Bank - A Qualitative Assessment of Pathways to Youth Inclusion in Afghanistan

World Bank - A Qualitative Assessment of Pathways to Youth Inclusion in Afghanistan

April 2020

The World Bank commissioned Samuel Hall in 2019 to conduct field research to explore Pathways to Youth Inclusion in Afghanistan. The objectives of this research were twofold: 1) To understand the issues, barriers and challenges faced by Afghan youth in terms of their inclusion in the social and economic processes that make up Afghan society and 2) To understand the perceptions of the Youth Subcommittees (YSCs) of local Community Development Councils (CDCs) established by Citizens’ Charter (an initiative of the Government of Afghanistan introduced in late 2016, to improve the delivery of core infrastructure, emergency services, and social services to participating communities), in terms of their impact, capacity, strengths and weaknesses, and attitudes toward them and their work.

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Children & Youth, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallMay 8, 2020youth, children, Afghanistan, inclusion, World Bank

ADSP - A Long Way Home: Obstacles and Opportunities for IDP Return in Afghanistan

ADSP - A Long Way Home: Obstacles and Opportunities for IDP Return in Afghanistan

January 2020

Building on secondary research and an ethnographic-based primary data collection, this research turns to IDPs in key provinces and districts of return to ask: which factors positively contribute to the ability of IDP populations to return to their places of origin in a manner which is sustainable and dignified? Samuel Hall answers this question by taking a case study approach, zooming in on 1-3 specific theme(s) in each of the areas studied, and building a narrative of local specificities raised by IDPs themselves in group and individual consultations, including interactions with other community representatives as well in the process.

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Migration & Displacement, South & Central AsiaSamuel HallJanuary 31, 2020Afghanistan, IDPs, ADSP, Return, Asian Displacement Solutions Platform, sustainable reintegration, case study

DRC/NRC/IRC - Unprepared for (re)integration: Lessons Learned from Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria on Refugee Returns to Urban Areas

DRC/NRC/IRC - Unprepared for (re)integration: Lessons Learned from Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria on Refugee Returns to Urban Areas

January 2020

This research was designed to support the thinking and planning around (re-)integration by identifying obstacles to preparedness of stakeholders for return and (re-)integration in refugee return settings. The study generates operational learning to enable NGOs, UN agencies, donors, government actors, and displacement-affected communities (DACs) to strengthen (re-) integration programming. It does so by reviewing achievements, challenges, opportunities, and critical success factors required for enhancing preparedness in return settings.

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Migration & Displacement, East & Southern Africa, South & Central Asia, Middle East &North AfricaSamuel HallJanuary 31, 2020reintegration, return, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, return settings, DRC, IRC, NRC