Publications — Samuel Hall

UNHCR: COMMUNITY-BASED ASSESSMENT OF REINTEGRATION AND ABSORPTION CAPACITY OF SOUTH SUDAN

May 2025

This community-based assessment examines the integration status of displaced and returned households living in South Sudan, and evaluates the area’s capacity to welcome additional returnees. It is one of four regional briefs in this series, of which the objectives are to evaluate the current degree of integration of displaced persons in the area, assess infrastructure and service quality and capacity to accommodate more people, and inform area-based planning by government actors, UNHCR and partners

The assessment employed a mixed-methods approach:

1. Household surveys

2. Infrastructure assessments

3. Focus groups, case studies & key informant interviews

Analytical approaches employed include the Reintegration Sustainability Survey (RSS), which quantifies integration levels in different dimensions via composite scoring. Infrastructure was evaluated against defined minimum standards to confirm basic functionality and quality benchmarks, while absorption capacity calculations assessed the extent to which existing services could accommodate additional demand.

The project focused on the following regions in South Sudan:

Samuel HallMay 5, 2025South Sudan, Community focused, community mapping, IDPs, UNHCR, returnees, service quality

UNDP: Leading the Way: Women Navigating Climate Change, Mobility, and Resilience in Africa.

April 2025

Climate change is not just an environmental crisis; it is a social crisis, deeply tied to gender and mobility. As droughts, floods, and desertification intensify, women and girls face disproportionate risks, often leading to displacement.

The new research report, Shifting Gender Roles, Building Resilience, produced by UNDP and Samuel Hall, moves beyond broad assumptions to amplify the real experiences of women in Kenya, Nigeria, and Somalia. It explores how gender norms shape women’s ability to adapt, how economic barriers hold them back, and how policies continue to exclude them from decisions that shape their futures.

Through field research and community consultations conducted in 2024, the report highlights how climate change is reshaping gender roles, deepening vulnerabilities, and—most importantly—creating new opportunities for resilience. The study highlights how women are not just enduring the crisis; but are also responding with solutions that demand recognition, funding, and inclusion in climate action.

The research concludes with suggested recommendations and action points, paving the way for further investigation.

Read full report here

FAIR: Returnee Voices Matter: Towards More Inclusive Return Policies

April 2025

Policies are often not adapted to the needs of returnees, resulting in extreme exclusion, stigma and poverty as well as inefficiencies in terms of migration management. Not only are they not inclusive nor adapted, but policies often silence returnees, as shown in our research. Yet, if policies and practices are not improved to address these gaps, people will be pushed to migrate again as a coping mechanism, even when they are willing to reintegrate. Furthermore, the act of not being heard in return policies reduces the attractiveness of voluntary return.

The research conducted in Georgia, Iraq, Nigeria and Türkiye highlights three core arguments:

▪ Different types of narratives impact on the legitimacy of migration and return policies, which are typically disconnected from returnees’ experiences.

▪ The disconnect demonstrates the frequent silencing of returnees which further nurtures their invisibilisation and dehumanisation in dominant discourses.

▪ Alternative discourses can contribute to more inclusive and effective return policies.

The research findings underscore that it is possible to do things differently: Discourses that emerge from countries of origin, which are not centred around European perspectives and agendas, and which are shared by returnees themselves can be the foundation for more inclusive and effective return policies.

Download the Policy brief here.

Samuel HallApril 1, 2025policies, MIGRATION, displacement, IDPs, returnees, Georgia, Iraq, Nigeria, Turkey, Europe

HABITABLE: Habitability and Adaptation to a Changing Climate: Impacts of climate change on agriculture and human mobility in the Northern and Volta Regions, Ghana

March 2025

This background brief examines the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and mobility patterns in two communities within the Northern and Volta Regions, Ghana: Lingbung and Vome. Beginning with an analysis of Ghana’s main rural-urban migration patterns, we synthesise findings from qualitative interviews conducted within these agrarian communities. Emphasis is placed on migration as one of the adaptive strategies adopted locally.

This brief then examines Ghana's policies and legal frameworks acknowledging different dimensions of human mobility related to climate change. It evaluates the extent to which these frameworks offer solutions to the problems experienced by the communities studied, which, in turn, intensify migration patterns. The brief proposes measures to address climate-induced migration in Ghana, with recommendations focusing on the gaps in current normative instruments while enhancing community resilience.

Download Policy Brief here

Samuel HallMarch 20, 2025climate change, Ghana, urban migration, rural migration, livelihoods

HABITABLE: Habitability and Adaptation to a Changing Climate: Impacts of climate change on agriculture and human mobility in the Kayes and Sikasso Regions, Mali

February 2025

This background brief investigates climatic impacts on livelihoods and human mobility patterns in Mali, particularly focusing on two communities in the Kayes Region (Fatao and Gory) and two communities in the Sikasso Region (Dogo and Kignan). After an analysis of the climatic and socio-economic challenges faced in Mali, it presents preliminary findings on migration as one of the locally adopted adaptation strategies, based on qualitative interviews conducted in these agricultural communities. The challenges encountered by these communities share common themes.

This background brief, therefore, explores Mali’s policies and legal frameworks that recognise distinct dimensions of human mobility in the context of climate change. It assesses the extent to which these instruments provide solutions to the issues affecting these communities, which, in turn, exacerbate migration patterns. The brief concludes with a summary of potential measures available to address climate-induced migration in the country, concentrating on the gaps in normative instruments while bolstering community resilience.

Read the full brief here.

Samuel HallFebruary 3, 2025

UNICEF: Endline Evaluation of the Adolescents and Youth Life Skills Programme (Maharati)

January 2025

Jordan has one of the world's youngest populations, but youth unemployment remains a major challenge, hitting 46.1% in 2022. Limited access to education, training, and jobs hampers young people's transition to higher education and the workforce. Refugees and women face even greater hurdles, with half of Syrian youth refugees unable to access secondary education.

To address these challenges, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Jordan Country Office (JCO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth (MoY), with their implementing partner Generations for Peace (GFP) implemented a life skills programme, the Maharati programme, from 2018-2022. This endline evaluation, commissioned by UNICEF JCO and conducted by Samuel Hall, had two main objectives:

From an accountability perspective – to measure the extent to which the planned results were achieved and the overall goal and objectives met.
From a learning perspective – to determine why planned and intended results were attained or not, to draw lessons and propose good practices and recommendations for learning, scale-up and replication.

The evaluation focuses on the Maharati programme’s activities from January 2018 to June 2022, implemented by the MoY in its youth centres across all governorates in Jordan. The findings, conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations aim to inform decision-making and programme improvement for UNICEF and MoY.

Read Full report here.

Samuel HallJanuary 8, 2025UNICEF, JORDAN, youth, unemployment, COVID-19, YOUTH REFUGEES

HABITABLE: Habitability and Adaptation to a Changing Climate: Impacts of climate change on agriculture and human mobility in communities in Makueni County, Kenya

January 2025

This background brief scrutinises the repercussions of climate change on livelihoods and human mobility in three communities in Makueni County, Kenya: Kathyaka, Kikoko, and Ngulu. Following an overview of Kenya's climatic and socioeconomic challenges, we summarise insights from qualitative interviews from these three agricultural communities, focusing on the role of migration among other local coping mechanisms. The challenges faced by these communities exhibit common themes. This brief then examines Kenya’s policies and legal frameworks acknowledging different dimensions of human mobility related to climate change.

It evaluates the extent to which these frameworks offer solutions to the problems experienced in these communities, which, in turn, intensify migration patterns. We conclude with Photo: Alexander Bee; Art and Graphic Design: Mohammed Hadj. Concept: Florence Kim. ©UN Network on Migration (2022). 2 recommendations to address the climate change human mobility nexus in Kenya, in particular by tackling shortcomings in existing policies and legal frameworks and by bolstering community resilience and adaptation strategies.

Read full brief here

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