The BMZ uses this Special Initiative to respond specifically to the challenges arising from global refugee movements. Between 2014 and 2021, a total of 299 projects were implemented under the Initiative, reaching about 17.5 million people.
In its work, the BMZ puts an emphasis on increased dialogue with host countries about protecting and integrating refugees and meeting their basic needs. The aim is to enable the people affected by displacement to live their lives in security and dignity whilst also supporting the people in the respective host communities. The Initiative also provides targeted support to internally displaced persons in a way that is tailored to their specific situation and the challenges they face.
This involves a broad range of activities that address, among other things, areas like education, employment, health, social protection and psychosocial support. Measures relating to the fields of energy and climate are increasingly being promoted, for instance projects on reforestation, on erosion control, or advising governments on how to support people displaced within their own countries due to climate change. Local civil society organisations and municipalities are involved in planning and implementing the measures.
One focus of the Initiative is on empowering women. So far, for example, cash-for-work measures have been implemented that have helped to achieve very high employment rates among women. The Initiative’s gender-transformative impacts are to be strengthened further as it is going to increasingly address gender-relevant power structures and processes, for instance by including women more in political processes or improving their legal situation in their own countries.