Mercy Corps Program Providing Opportunity for IDPs in Azerbaijan

A young girl sits by the railway car where her family lives. Mercy Corps is working to increase economic opportunities for displaced families. (Photo: Ramil Maharramov/ Mercy Corps)

For more than 10 years, hundreds of thousands internally displaced people (IDPs) in Azerbaijan have lived in schools, abandoned railroad cars and temporary settlements. With the passage of time and continued uncertainty in the country, the likelihood of many IDPs returning home grows slimmer and the need for long-term economic opportunity for displaced families increases.

Mercy Corps’ Azerbaijan Humanitarian Assistance Program (AHAP) is helping IDPs and affected communities gain access to health care and agricultural assistance while supporting long-term economic development. A six-year, $45 million umbrella grant program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), AHAP is evolving to meet the changing needs of the people in Azerbaijan.

“Our programs have changed as the needs of the people have changed,” said Cathy Rothenberger, Mercy Corps Azerbaijan Economic Opportunity Manager. “Our initial goal was to address the immediate needs of the IDPs – food, shelter and health. As these primary needs were met we began to focus on integrating communities and expanding economic opportunities, especially in the southern and central areas of the country where many of the displaced people live.”

As the umbrella grant manager, Mercy Corps works with partner international NGOs to identify, monitor and evaluate programs with an emphasis on integrated community development.

“It makes sense to follow a cluster approach. We ask our partners to look at the needs of multiple villages in an area and ways in which they can link communities together. They then are able to help implement programs that might not be sustainable or viable for just the people of one village but one that can be supported by 30 or 40 villages,” Rothenberger said.

Additionally, Mercy Corps is working to assure greater coordination between international NGOs and to build the capacity of local Azerbaijani organizations and communities Rothenberger said.

Situated in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan is still recovering from a devastating war with Armenia that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union. An estimated one million people have been displaced and an uncertain peace has strained economic activity and led to a deteriorating health care system and a steady increase in the infant mortality rate.

Rothenberger said that potential oil revenues from the Caspian Sea and a strong agricultural sector, however, have led to an increase in outside investment which could ultimately benefit development work in the country.

“International companies are beginning to realize that working with NGOs could be advantageous in their negotiations with the government and that there is a common interest in the development of a stable Azerbaijan,” she said.

Mercy Corps began its program in Azerbaijan in early 1997, reconstructing public buildings and providing internally displaced people with clothing and bedding. Soon, Mercy Corps was USAID’s primary partner in Azerbaijan and an important colleague of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees.

Mercy Corps has also received a $1.3 million grant for Child Survival programs by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the first awarded in Azerbaijan. The program benefits three underserved mountainous districts in southeastern Azerbaijan on the border with Iran.

For more information about Mercy Corps’ programs in Azerbaijan, you can visit the Mercy Corps Azerbaijan Web site.