Author summary The “Graduation model” is a well-regarded program to help families in poverty develop sustainable livelihoods, but little is known about how well this model may work among communities who have fled violence, disaster, or threat and resettled in a new location. We reviewed and compiled all existing evidence about Graduation programs in displaced communities from academic articles and non-academic reports. We found five studies about such programs that provided limited details about how programs were conducted, how effective they were, and how they might need to change to better suit the unique challenges that displaced communities face. Factors that helped or hindered the program were complex, and suggested that community support on many levels is important for participants to thrive. The programs were best implemented when their approaches were flexible enough to adapt to urgent and changing needs, while their long-term sustainability depended on participants’ access to land and business markets. We found little existing high-quality evidence about these programs’ effectiveness or implementation with displaced communities, suggesting that additional research is needed to ensure these poverty alleviation efforts can sustainably meet the needs of displaced communities.
Study eligibility
We included studies focusing on displaced populations, including refugees, asylum-seekers, forcibly displaced persons, or other IDPs. We considered studies whose participants were at least 18 years old, and who were willing and able… [28975 chars]
Source: PLOS (Public Library of Science) | Published: 2026-06-03T00:00:00Z
Credit: PLOS (Public Library of Science)
