The World Bank’s Window for Host Communities and Refugees: Successes, Challenges, and the Way Forward

Since its creation in 2017, the World Bank’s Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR) has committed almost $5.5 billion to 21 low-income, refugee-hosting countries. The WHR represents a major shift in global displacement financing: moving from short-term humanitarian assistance toward medium- and long-term development solutions that integrate refugees into labor markets and national services. This paper examines the WHR’s history, design, and impact, drawing on data from 100 WHR-funded projects, as well as qualitative interviews with stakeholders from the World Bank, UNHCR, governments, and refugee-led organizations. We find that WHR financing has supported significant de jure and de facto policy reforms in several countries—including new refugee laws in Ethiopia, Chad, and Kenya—and growing inclusion in national education, health, and social protection systems. However, progress has been uneven. Limited internal capacity and incentives to address sensitive issues around refugees’ inclusion, combined with a lack of coordination with external actors, has led to missed opportunities for additional, significant reforms. Further, instead of rewarding the most inclusive countries, the most restrictive countries have to date received the largest commitments per refugee. We argue that the WHR remains one of the most promising instruments for achieving refugee inclusion in protracted contexts but must strengthen its leverage, incentives, accountability, and collaborations to sustain impact. As donor budgets tighten and needs grow, a strong WHR is critical to delivering durable solutions for both refugees and host communities.