Health systems strengthening through preparedness in COVID health emergency for refugees and IDPs in the West Bank.

This project is part of an initiative that will provide evidence and strengthen capacity for bridging the knowledge gap in responding to the growing COVID-19 health crisis both in the short-term and longer-term. The initiative will support research on resilience building and preparedness to serve the needs of refugees and other populations on the move by promoting inter-sectoral approaches, including building bridges between humanitarian and development responses to reduce and control health risks for displaced populations, and leverage local opportunities. This project will generate evidence to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees and internally-displaced people in the West Bank and the health system's ability to meet their needs. It will also strengthen the health system through incorporating research and health information system strengthening. The methodology for this study will comprise three phases. There will be an initial rapid situation assessments and community engagement to analyze the pandemic response and engage with institutional and policy stakeholders. Next phase is larger scale quantitative and qualitative research activities followed by the translation of research for policy and practice to inform longer term preparedness and resilience of the health system. Throughout these stages, building capacities for research will be carried out, particularly in health system preparedness with regards to health human resources, health information system and community engagement. This project will lead to enhanced knowledge production both for short-term rapid response to COVID-19 as well as a longer-term participatory approach to pandemic preparedness and resilience from a gender and equity perspective for refugee and internally displaced populations.