New research from Refugees International and the Center for Global Development shows that the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately impacted displaced Venezuelans in Peru when compared to their hosts and makes the case for their greater economic inclusion.

Venezuelans in Peru face de jure and de facto barriers to labor market access. We partner with the Center for Global Development to analyze the impacts and benefits of Venezuelan migration and recommend policy changes to lower barriers and maximize Venezuelans’ positive contributions to the Peruvian economy.

Colombia has extended a relatively generous welcome to nearly 1.8 million displaced Venezuelans. But many Venezuelans in Colombia are struggling to make ends meet. Research from the Center for Global Development and Refugees International shows that Venezuelans can make meaningful economic contributions and become more self-sufficient if given access to decent work opportunities.

New research from the Center for Global Development and Refugees International finds that the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit displaced Venezuelans in Colombia particularly hard. The study recommends a way forward to alleviate this suffering and create economic opportunities for Venezuelans and their hosts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread quickly and widely; the number of cases worldwide has now exceeded ten million. The economic consequences of the pandemic are expected to be dire. These impacts are compounded for the millions of refugees living in low- and middle-income countries.

On March 1, Colombian President Ivan Duque issued a decree that would give temporary protective legal status to most of the 1.8 million forcibly displaced Venezuelans in the country. Martha Guerrero Ble and Rachel Schmidtke explain what this means for displaced Venezuelans in Colombia and other countries hosting migrants and refugees.

Para los que trabajan informalmente y con poca seguridad laboral, la perdida de empleo fue casi garantizada en la pandemia, por lo que es necesario tomar acciones concretas para eliminar las barreras y puedan acceder trabajos de acuerdo a sus capacidades, mejorar su autosuficiencia y disminuir sus vulnerabilidades.

As Peru enters a political crisis, the economic effects of the pandemic are being intensified. And while the Peruvian government had implemented major programs to support its population during COVID-19, they are leaving behind some 1 million displaced Venezuelans currently in Peru.

As COVID-19 has brought about the worst global recession since the great depression, the World Bank has a critical role to play in ensuring that refugees, who are among the most vulnerable, are not left behind. In a piece for The Hill, Hardin Lang and Martha Guerrero Ble show how that can be done.

While the global context has now shifted with the COVID-19 pandemic, research continues to affirm the importance of expanded labor market access for refugees and forced migrants. Here, we look at progress made in four countries in particular over the past year, and highlight the challenges raised by COVID-19.

Martha Fernandez is one of 800,000 Venezuelans living Peru. Thirteen years after she and her family fled their home, she created the Association for the Protection of Vulnerable Populations, an organization aimed at empowering other Venezuelan women seeking refuge in Peru.

At the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Refugees International and the Center for Global Development co-hosted a spotlight session on how innovative programming and financing can help expand labor market access for refugees and forced migrants. Read the four main takeaways.

Meet Gladis, one of the few people providing aid to several hundred asylum seekers returned to Mexico who are camped out near the international bridge in Matamoros between Mexico and the United States.