HOW EFFECTIVE IS COMMUNICATION IN THE ROHINGYA REFUGEE RESPONSE? An evaluation of the common service for community engagement and accountability

BBC Media Action, Internews, and Translators without Borders are working to improve access to information for Rohingya communities through their “Common Service for Community Engagement and Accountability” (Common Service) initiative. The project has involved a range of activities, from creating and sharing audio visual content in the Rohingya language, to training interpreters, rumor-tracking in the camps, supporting agencies to set up feedback mechanisms, and ensure community needs and concerns are collated and brought to the attention of responding agencies. As the first phase of the project, funded by DFID and the IOM, comes to an end, the evaluation How effective is communication in Rohingya refugee response? An evaluation of the common service for community engagement and accountability shares key findings. 

A results-based approach to protection highlights the importance of a continuous, context- specific analysis centered around experiences of the affected population who are best placed to communicate specific threats affecting themselves and their community, who is vulnerable to these threats, and why. A common question we hear is “how can we meaningfully engage with affected populations?” Common Service activities and tools were used [JF1] to increase the two-way flow of information from affected populations to humanitarian actors.

By using these types of tools and activities, important information came to light regarding the ongoing humanitarian response and what the affected community actually needed.