Measuring Separation in Emergencies: Pilot summary report Democratic Republic of Congo

The Measuring Separation in Emergencies (MSiE) project is an interagency initiative funded by the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and is coordinated by Save the Children in partnership with Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, it is steered by a multi-agency Advisory Panel including members of the Inter Agency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (IAWG UASC) and the Assessment and Measurement Task Force (A&MTF) of the Global Child Protection Working Group (CPWG).

The overall aim of the MSiE project is to strengthen emergency response programmes for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) through the development of practical, field-tested tools to enhance the assessment of the scale and nature of separation in emergencies. Three methods for measuring separation in emergencies are currently being explored:

1. Projection method
2. Population-based estimation method
3. Community-based surveillance method

The first document reports on the field testing of the population-based estimation method (or ‘estimation method’) in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The estimation method seeks to provide population-based estimation of the prevalence, number and basic characteristics of UASC in a defined area, at any given point in time.

A pilot summary report of the community-based surveillance method is available here.

The second pilot summary document reports on the field testing of the community-based surveillance method in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The community-based surveillance method incorporates a community-based surveillance system capable of continuous, ongoing measurement of trends in the frequency and basic characteristics of UASC in defined areas over time.

A pilot summary report of the population-based estimation method is available here.