Internally displaced children in urban settings go under the radar Reliable, timely and accessible data and evidence are essential for understanding how internal displacement affects children and their families and for putting in place policies and programmes to meet their needs. Only 14 per cent of countries with data on conflict-related IDPs currently have age-disaggregated data. That means that in 86 per cent of countries, internally displaced children are invisible. In many cases, data are not regularly collected, or are collected by different actors for different purposes, resulting in inconsistent and poor quality data. This calls for more disaggregation of displacement data by age, and of child-specific data by displacement status, when feasible and relevant. Acquiring data on IDPs living in non-camp, urban areas is particularly challenging. IDPs are often hard to identify, particularly when they are dispersed among communities that are poor themselves. They also may move from one city to another where they have existing connections or to another neighbourhood in the same city, as has been the case in Iraq.13 These factors increase the difficulties of developing appropriate evidence-based policies to protect and assist them14 and make it more likely that they will be overlooked in displacement responses. They suggest that better internal displacement data and better disaggregation by age and gender are needed to inform more targeted and effective policies. Drivers of internal displacement in urban settings Urban areas can be particularly harmful to children who seek protection. Child-specific drivers of displacement, such as forced recruitment into armed groups, forces or gangs; child trafficking; female genital mutilation; forced or underage marriage; and domestic violence are often exacerbated in situations of urban warfare and disasters. Armed conflicts and the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas cause death and injury among civilians, including children. They may lead to the destruction of schools, hospitals, water facilities and other civilian infrastructure, forcing children and their families to f lee their homes. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, severe storms and floods also devastate cities.Access to quality services Internally displaced children in urban settings face significant challenges in accessing services without registration and documentation. In displacement camps, registration of displaced people is often the only requirement for accessing aid and services. But in cities, access to services generally requires personal identification papers. Without these, children and their families may be unable to enrol in school, or to receive healthcare, humanitarian aid and secure housing. This makes the loss of personal identification documents, and challenges replacing them, a recurring issue for all IDPs, especially problematic for children in urban areas.27 In Afghanistan, national identity cards are issued only in the area of origin. Children, including the displaced, cannot attend school without them, despite their constitutional right to an education.28 Children without birth certificates cannot access health services.29 Without immunization cards or medical records, they may be unable to receive vaccinations, increasing their risk of preventable disease.30 In Iraq, ration cards are issued only to male heads of households, preventing unaccompanied children or families headed by women from accessing food assistance.31 In Uganda, ration cards may be distributed only to IDPs living in camps, not to displaced children in non-camp, urban settings.32 Missing documentation can also make it impossible for families to secure formal tenancy contracts, forcing them to live in constant fear of eviction and homelessness or to end upNigeria, while primary and secondary health care services are often more accessible to internally displaced children in urban areas, compared with their rural counterparts, secondary health care is frequently unaffordable.
Education Schools serve as an essential safe haven for internally displaced children. They can be essential to helping children regain a sense of normalcy and receive the support they need to integrate into their host communities.
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