Political Participation for Social Inclusion of Internally Displaced Persons

Executive Summary Herdsmen-farmers conflict has displaced 1.5 million residents of Benue State, Nigeria, according to government officials. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have lost livelihoods, farms, personal property and community infrastructure. The paper highlights the social challenges they have experienced and the response by government and international humanitarian agencies (IHAs) to their situations. Based on interviews with 12 IDPs belonging to the displaced population from Guma Local Government Area of Benue State and interviews with seven humanitarian workers, the paper finds that the IDPs: • Have lost family members, neighbors, farms, churches, health centers, and means of mobility. • Cannot safely return home or access their ancestral lands. • Cannot support themselves. • Cannot attend public school or progress to a university. • Lack access to quality health care. • Live with multiple families in insecure shelters. • Cannot reliably obtain birth registration and replace other destroyed documents. • Can register their names, family relations, and former villages, but not their losses, which might lead to compensation and help them to rebuild their lives. The paper makes the following recommendations. • Registration, Effective Remedies and Access to Justice: The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs (FMHA) and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) should document personal and community socio-economic losses to ascertain the extent of damage to IDPs in order to facilitate effective remedies. The Ministries of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission, and UNHCR should support the IDPs by providing them with information and procedures that allow them to secure full compensation for their losses, and with safe, permanent solutions to their situations, including full integration into their host communities, safe and voluntary return home, or resettlement in a third community. • Engage IDPs as Stakeholders: The Benue State Government should ensure that BSEMA communicates to IDPs the possibilities for voluntary and dignified safe return. If return is not immediately foreseeable, BSEMA should offer IDPs the means to relocate and resettle elsewhere. • Provision of Sustainable Social Amenities: BSEMA, the FMHA, and international humanitarian agencies (IHAs) should provide sustainable healthcare, shelter, education in IDP camps, financial assistance and the means to access services outside of IDP camps. • Peace through Establishment of Ranches: Benue State Government’s Peace Commission should resolve the herdsmen-farmer conflict and restore peace by promoting peaceful co-existence between the conflicting parties. Herdsmen should be educated on the procedures for legal land acquisition for ranching, and farmers should be able to seek legal redress when their farms are damaged by grazing cattle. BSEMA and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs should also facilitate voluntary, safe and dignified return of IDPs or their resettlement in another community. • Safeguard IDP Camps: BSEMA and the Nigeria security agencies should safeguard official and unofficial IDP camps. • Inclusive Policy Implementation: The FMHA in collaboration with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) should develop humanitarian response plans that are beneficial to all IDPs in Nigeria irrespective of the cause of their displacement.

Internal displacement has become a significant global challenge, affecting millions worldwide. In Nigeria, particularly in Benue State, internal displacement due to communal conflicts, resource-based disputes, and natural disasters has disrupted traditional social structures and relationships. This study explores the impact of internal displacement on social cohesion in Benue State, focusing on trust, social networks, cooperation, and shared values among displaced populations and host communities. This study aims to provide insights into the dynamics of displacement and the pathways to restoring social cohesion in affected areas. Internal displacement is a critical issue that poses significant social, economic, and humanitarian challenges globally, with Nigeria being one of the most affected countries. In Benue State, internal displacement is primarily driven by communal conflicts, resource-based disputes, and natural disasters, leading to the disruption of traditional social structures and relationships. This seminar study investigates the impact of internal displacement on social cohesion in Benue State, focusing on key dimensions such as trust, social networks, cooperation, and shared values among internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their host communities.

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In this study, we aim to analyze social networks in which internally displaced persons (IDPs) are involved in northeast Nigeria, after they have been displaced by the insurgency of the Boko Haram group. While IDPs usually resettle in camps operated by the government, contacts with host communities are common. We further analyze the potential that such contacts may lead to conflicts between IDPs and their host communities in the Lake Chad region. Data for this study were collected by interviewing IDPs in the Bakassi IDP camp in Maiduguri and by interviewing members of the host community in Maiduguri in close proximity to the Bakassi IDP camp. A Social Network Analysis approach was used to analyze the data, by constructing social network graphs and computing network attributes, mainly the betweenness centrality of actors. The results of the study show on the one hand a mixture of friendly and conflicting relationships between IDPs and the host community from the IDPs’ perspective, and on the other hand, only few contacts between members of the host community and IDPs in the Bakassi IDP camp, from the host community's perspective. The analysis suggests that in the context of conflict present in the Lake Chad region, IDPs and members of the host community mainly use closed networks, to keep available resources and economic opportunities within their communities. We recommend a better service delivery to IDPs but also to members of the host communities who feel neglected as more attention is given to IDPs with the distribution of humanitarian aid.

This study investigated the impact of internal displacement and resettlement on social cohesion in Benue State, Nigeria, focusing on the relationship between internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities. Guided by two research questions and two hypotheses tested at a 0.05 level of significance, the study adopted a survey research design. The population comprised 415,347 IDPs, including 108,031 in formal camps and 307,316 in informal settlements or with host families. Using Leslie Kish’s formula, a sample of 384 participants, including IDPs, host community members, and stakeholders, was drawn with a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed, combining purposive selection of camps and communities with stratified random sampling to ensure demographic representation. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, piloted for validity and reliability, yielding a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.87. Analyses employed descriptive and inferential statistics, including means, percentages, standard deviations, and regression analysis via SPSS. Findings indicate that internal displacement significantly undermines social relationships among IDPs. Weakened cohesion, increased conflict, heightened insecurity, and breakdown of social ties were found to predict deteriorating social relationships. Displacement disrupts communal networks, erodes trust, and fosters suspicion, reducing cooperation between IDPs and host communities. Loss of livelihood also significantly affects perceptions of economic equality, with unequal access to resources, land-related tensions, and disparities in service provision heightening marginalization and frustration. Economic deprivation exacerbates social tensions and undermines community harmony, highlighting the need for livelihood restoration and equitable inclusion programs. Based on these findings, the study recommends policies to enhance social cohesion through improved resource management, equitable aid distribution, and initiatives to rebuild trust and social networks. The research contributes to understanding forced migration in African contexts, emphasizing the social and economic challenges of displacement while highlighting strategies for resilience and peaceful coexistence.

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) is increasing globally, particularly in areas affected by conflict. Almost half of the world’s IDPs are found in Africa, yet there is limited research to understand who IDPs are according to their basic characteristics, the capital assets they have prior to displacement, those they require postmovement, and how these factors affect the nature of their movement. Developing this understanding is important because IDPs have largely been studied as homogeneous groups, irrespective of the differences in how, where and why they move. The aim of this paper is to develop a nuanced typology of IDPs in Nigeria based on the factors that underpin their movement, with a view of understanding the roles of different capital assets used in informing their decisions to move and stay at host communities. Advancing this understanding will enable identification of opportunities for more targeted support, for both IDPs and their host communities. The paper uses the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) to guide the collection of qualitative and quantitative data for characterising IDPs who moved to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. A mixed method approach is used with data collected from hosted and non-hosted IDPs and key informants in seven IDP zones in Abuja. Descriptive statistics using SPSS are applied to understand patterns, categories and relationships among variables. Overall, three major types of movement are identified: proactive, reactive and tactical. Proactive IDPs mostly used their human capital to move but required more physical capital (e.g., affordable housing) after moving. Reactive IDPs used their social capital to move and required physical capital (e.g., basic services) after moving. Tactical IDPs, who used social and financial capital assets to move, required human capital (e.g., education and employment) after moving. These insights allow policymakers and other providers of assistance to IDPs to deliver more targeted support, for both IDPs and the communities in their destination, given the improved understanding of the nuances in their characteristics.

The full-scale Russian military aggression against Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022 has led to a massive flow of forced migrants, both external and internal, which is unprecedented and the most massive forced displacement in Europe since World War II. So far, there is a significant inequality of attention to the socio-economic needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, because most activities of international institutions and scientific attention are devoted to the needs and study of refugees, while the needs of IDPs are often “ignored” or understudied in terms of disproportionate spatial distribution of IDPs, challenges of integration into host communities, problems of consolidation of IDPs and local population, etc. The analysis of the existing body of literature on Ukrainian IDPs showed that the study of their current socio-economic situation, problems with integration into host communities and features of spatial distribution is poorly represented for the period of a full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war against the background of a huge body of pre-2022 literature. Taking into account such an insignificant body of literature on post-2022 Ukrainian IDPs, the main tasks of this study are twofold: (1) to fill the gap and expand the spectrum of knowledge about the current socio-economic situation of Ukrainian IDPs and the key problems of their integration into host communities in the conditions of a full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war; (2) analyze positive and negative international practices of IDP integration and develop recommendations for Ukraine. This article is devoted to the analysis of trends and the identification of the main socio-economic challenges of the integration and spatial distribution of Ukrainian IDPs, as well as the development of proposals for using their migration potential for the resilient development of Ukraine and host communities. The novelty of the research lies in the highlighting of positive and negative international practices of IDP integration and, as a result, the necessity of forming long-term solutions regarding the urgent socio-economic needs of Ukrainian IDPs and their spatial placement is emphasized. The dataset of the study was formed on the basis of data from reports of various international organizations and data from official state statistics. To achieve the goal of the article, quantitative methods are used, in particular, descriptive statistics and ranking. It was established that in the global context, Ukraine ranks third in the world by the number of IDPs, and their number is almost 6 million people (7 times more than before the full-scale Russian invasion), which definitely impacts the course of global migration processes. In the national context, it was found that the pattern of the spatial distribution of IDPs within the country indicates that most IDPs gravitate to the regions where the role of the regional centre is performed by one of the five metropolises of Ukraine (not including temporarily occupied Donetsk) — Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Lviv, which are powerful socio-economic centres and flagships of the country’s settlement system. It was found that the biggest challenges for the socioeconomic integration of IDPs into host communities are high unemployment, financial difficulties in meeting basic needs, housing problems, social stigmatization, as well as conflicts between IDPs and the population of host communities. The analysis showed that the current situation with Ukrainian IDPs requires from the government of Ukraine and the authorities of the host communities not short-term, but longterm solutions to the urgent problems of IDPs: in particular, social housing and proper housing conditions, social protection, avoiding shameful international practices of spatial placement of IDPs and much more.

As the result of the annexation of the Crimea and Donbass military conflict, there was an emergence of forced migration. It ought to be emphasized that today issues related to addressing problems of internally displaced persons (IDPs), are relevant and require an integrated approach. The increase in the number of IDPs in the country raises the issue of identifying the strategic priorities of the state policy. The purpose of this research is to formulate strategic priorities of the state policy of support for IDPs’. The subject of the study is theoretical and methodological principles of the state policy to support IDPs. The research methodology includes a set of scientific research methods that provide identifying the strategic priorities of the state policy for IDPs’ support, developing effective mechanisms for these priorities achievement, and conceptual vision of solving IDPs’ problems. In the course of investigations, the following methods are used: analysis while studying the main problems of internally displaced persons; logical synthesis and synthesis while drawing conclusions. Results. Scientific novelty of the article. In the article, the conceptual foundations of the IDPs support have been formed, an attention has been focused on the feasibility of using a strategic approach, which involves the formation and implementation of a set of strategically oriented measures aimed at solving the most acute issues and matters related to internal forced migration, directing the IDPs potential and internally displaced businesses to strengthen local communities and social and economic development of the resettlement territories. The main stages and conceptual foundations for the Strategy formation on the IDPs support have been proposed. The strategy is based on an integrated approach to addressing IDPs and internally displaced businesses, taking into account the interests of host communities. Practical implications. The result of the Strategy implementation ought to be approved by the strategic migration model for Ukraine’s internal migration aimed at promoting the implementation of the basic IDPs and internally displaced businesses rights; ensuring the social and economic integration of the IDPs into the host society; promotion of country territories’ social and economic development; reducing the level of social and psychological tension in host communities; creating new jobs; improvement of the investment climate; increasing the efficiency of using the country intellectual potential and its human resources. Value / originality. Solving the urgent issues associated with forced displacement processes, including integration and adaptation to host communities.

Introduction: Forced displacement leading to internal displacement, especially in developing countries, is a growing global public health problem. The additional presence of substance use and abuse among forcefully displaced young people worsens the challenge by posing long-term health, social and legal consequences for both substance users and the general public. A better understanding of the pattern and drivers of substance use will be useful for the prevention and control of the menace among this vulnerable population. This study, therefore, aims to assess and compare the prevalence and willingness to stop substance use among youths in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and their host communities in Borno State, Nigeria. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among youths (15-29 years old) in IDP camps and the host communities in Maiduguri, North-East Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to recruit respondents from their households into the two study groups. Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), and Stages of Changes Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES) instruments, were pretested and used to assess the prevalence, types and pattern of substance use, as well as willingness to stop substance abuse, via interviewer-administration Results: Three hundred (300) respondents were surveyed, comprising one hundred and fifty (150) each, from IDP camp and their host communities. Male-to-female ratios were 1:0.85 for the host and 1:0.67 for IDP study groups. The mean age was 21.9 ± 4.58 years (15-29 years), with significantly younger respondents in IDP compared with host communities. Overall 138 respondents were involved in substance abuse, yielding a prevalence rate of 46.0%. The prevalence of substance use among host and IDP study groups was 59.3% and 32.7%, respectively (p<0.05). Among substance users, the mean age at onset of substance use was 17.9 ± 3.6 years, with significantly earlier onset among IDP compared with host groups (p<0.05). Also, the mean duration of substance use was 5.39 ± 3.3 years, but with a significantly longer duration of use among IDP compared with host groups (p<0.05). Tobacco was the most commonly abused substance with high (15.2%) and moderate (33.3%) degrees of dependence, and a significantly higher proportion among IDP compared with host groups (p<0.05). In both groups, the commonest social means of taking substances was with friends, who were also the most common introducers of substances to respondents in both study groups. Most subjects had low levels of recognition (94.9%), ambivalence (62.0%) and taking steps (72.3%). Compared with respondents in the host group, those in the IDP group had a significantly higher proportion of high degree for taking steps (20.4% vs. 4.5%, p<0.05). Multinomial regression analysis identified age and male gender as the significant predictors of substance use (p<0.00). For every unit increase in age by one year, there was a 15% increased likelihood of substance use. More so, compared with females, males had a 12.28 times increased likelihood of substance use (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of substance abuse among youths forcefully displaced due to Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria. Youths should be gainfully employed and/or engaged in diverse forms of capacity-building activities. Rehabilitation services should be made available in host communities and IDP camps, to provide health education and counselling, towards prevention, treatment and control of substance use and its consequences.

Introduction: Forced displacement leading to internal displacement, especially in developing countries, is a growing global public health problem. The additional presence of substance use and abuse among forcefully displaced young people worsens the challenge by posing long-term health, social and legal consequences for both substance users and the general public. A better understanding of the pattern and drivers of substance use will be useful for the prevention and control of the menace among this vulnerable population. This study, therefore, aims to assess and compare the prevalence and willingness to stop substance use among youths in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and their host communities in Borno State, Nigeria. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among youths (15-29 years old) in IDP camps and the host communities in Maiduguri, North-East Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to recruit respondents from their households into the two study groups. Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), and Stages of Changes Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES) instruments, were pretested and used to assess the prevalence, types and pattern of substance use, as well as willingness to stop substance abuse, via interviewer-administration Results: Three hundred (300) respondents were surveyed, comprising one hundred and fifty (150) each, from IDP camp and their host communities. Male-to-female ratios were 1:0.85 for the host and 1:0.67 for IDP study groups. The mean age was 21.9 ± 4.58 years (15-29 years), with significantly younger respondents in IDP compared with host communities. Overall 138 respondents were involved in substance abuse, yielding a prevalence rate of 46.0%. The prevalence of substance use among host and IDP study groups was 59.3% and 32.7%, respectively (p<0.05). Among substance users, the mean age at onset of substance use was 17.9 ± 3.6 years, with significantly earlier onset among IDP compared with host groups (p<0.05). Also, the mean duration of substance use was 5.39 ± 3.3 years, but with a significantly longer duration of use among IDP compared with host groups (p<0.05). Tobacco was the most commonly abused substance with high (15.2%) and moderate (33.3%) degrees of dependence, and a significantly higher proportion among IDP compared with host groups (p<0.05). In both groups, the commonest social means of taking substances was with friends, who were also the most common introducers of substances to respondents in both study groups. Most subjects had low levels of recognition (94.9%), ambivalence (62.0%) and taking steps (72.3%). Compared with respondents in the host group, those in the IDP group had a significantly higher proportion of high degree for taking steps (20.4% vs. 4.5%, p<0.05). Multinomial regression analysis identified age and male gender as the significant predictors of substance use (p<0.00). For every unit increase in age by one year, there was a 15% increased likelihood of substance use. More so, compared with females, males had a 12.28 times increased likelihood of substance use (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of substance abuse among youths forcefully displaced due to Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria. Youths should be gainfully employed and/or engaged in diverse forms of capacity-building activities. Rehabilitation services should be made available in host communities and IDP camps, to provide health education and counselling, towards prevention, treatment and control of substance use and its consequences.

Internal migration caused by the war of russia against Ukraine (with the active phase starting in February 2022) has increased the socio-economic burden on the host communities welcoming internally displaced population from the frontline and occupied territories. On the other hand, it intensifies behavioral reflections of local residents on the integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The study aims to identify opportunities, challenges, and prospects for IDPs’ adaptation in host communities (a case study of Lviv oblast, Ukraine). The paper conducted a sociological survey among 2,500 respondents in November 2022–February 2023. The results show that the lack of housing, lack of permanent employment, language contradictions, and forced limited contact with relatives who remain in the combat zone are existential barriers to the integration of IDPs into host communities. The study identified such opportunities for the integration of IDPs into the host society: reducing the risk of depopulation of territories, reducing imbalances in the local labor market in certain sectors of the economy, strengthening social cohesion, developing small businesses, and improving social infrastructure. The respective challenges include increased social tension, competition for jobs and housing, shortage of places in preschool institutions, and disproportionate distribution of budget funds between the local population and IDPs. Conflicts between IDPs and local residents, as well as IDPs and local authorities, require a proactive position of local authorities to initiate psychological support programs and create communication platforms for the exchange of individual experiences and discussion of psychological and emotional issues.

This paper studies the security implications of internal displacement shocks for host communities. It focuses on changes in wealth within host communities induced by the inflow of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a potential mechanism that triggers local conflicts. The sudden insurgency of the jihadist terrorist organization Boko Haram, which led to the internal displacement of over 2.5 million persons in northeastern Nigeria, is used as a quasi-natural experiment. Applying both a two-way fixed effects analysis and an instrumental variable strategy based on historical ethnic ties between the areas of displacement and receiving areas, the results show that the presence of IDPs is associated with a decrease in aggregate wealth and an increase in inequality within host communities, between 2010 and 2019. These effects are accompanied by an increased risk of conflict onset in the short and long run. The inequality-conflict link is likely to be caused by grievances among low-wealth segments of the host community towards new arrivals rather than by changes in social cohesion within host communities, which increased in response to the inflow of IDPs. The analysis further indicates that an improvement in IDPs' living conditions is accompanied by a decrease in violence and improved relations between hosts and IDPs. Taken together, findings from this study call for a two-pronged immediate relief and recovery approach that alleviates adverse economic effects on vulnerable segments of host communities and increases IDPs' welfare in displacement settings

Literature shows that IDPs struggle to access services, which has an impact on their ability to live healthy and fulfilling lives. In the field of health, IDPs frequently have worse outcomes than both host community and refugees. This rapid literature review finds evidence of a number of policy and administrative barriers to access of services for internally displaced persons (IDPs). IDPs remain citizens of the countries in which they are displaced, and the national authorities retain responsibility for meeting their basic rights. However, their displacement, loss of livelihoods and assets, lack of documentation, as well as discrimination against them, lack of protection under international law, lack of policy to address their needs, poor services and conflict or disaster conditions, can all make it more difficult for IDPs to access basic services than non-displaced citizens. There is relatively little literature systematically addressing the issue of administrative and policy barriers to service access among IDPs. Much of the literature discusses IDPs alongside refugees (who have a different legal status and access to different national and international support), or discusses the whole range of difficulties facing IDPs but does not focus on administrative or policy barriers. The literature frequently does not compare IDPs and other citizens and service users. Nevertheless, policy and administrative barriers are discussed, ranging from analysis of international instruments on IDPs to documentation procedures in particular countries. Much of the literature shows the prevalence of disease, lack of school attendance, limited provision of services etc. faced by IDPs, but does not discuss the policy and administrative barriers in detail.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue state, Nigeria face an escalating humanitarian crisis, marked by persistent conflict, forced displacement, and inadequate living conditions. This study examined the humanitarian crises in IDP’s (internally displaced persons) camps in Benue state, Nigeria based on the persistent herdsmen-farmers conflict resulting to displacement of people to camps. The study examined the multifaceted challenges experienced by IDPs in Benue state, Nigeria, addressing the root causes, prevailing conditions, and the response mechanisms in place. A total of 12 IDPs camps were selected from Six (6) affected local government (Guma, Makurdi, Gwer-west, Agatu, Logo and Kwande). Within the IDPs camps, a purposive sampling procedure was adopted to select 240 respondents from the selected 12 IDPs camps. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics such are percentages, mean and presented in frequency distribution tables, charts and graphs. The findings of the study revealed that, overcrowding and inadequate shelter, food and water insecurity, health challenges and inadequate medical services, protection and security concerns in camps are the major humanitarian crises in the IDPs camps. Although, there are humanitarian response efforts by government, NGOs, international organisations and well-meaning individuals, however it is grossly inadequate. The study concluded that there is urgent need for a comprehensive and sustainable approach to address the humanitarian crisis, involving collaborative efforts from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the international community. Also understanding the complexities of this crisis is crucial to developing effective strategies aimed at alleviating the suffering and rebuilding the lives of the displaced population in Benue state, Nigeria.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the governance challenges faced by healthcare providers in Kalar, Iraq, particularly regarding the delivery of healthcare services to internally displaced persons (IDPs). By analyzing structured questionnaire responses from healthcare employers, the study identifies key barriers to effective health governance, including resource limitations, legal framework inefficiencies, and the need for enhanced collaboration among stakeholders. The insights gained will inform policymakers and healthcare providers on improving health service delivery in conflict-affected regions, ultimately contributing to better health outcomes for vulnerable populations, including both IDPs and the local community.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing structured questionnaires to gather data from healthcare employers in Kalar, Iraq. The questionnaires focused on identifying governance challenges related to healthcare delivery for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to highlight key barriers, while qualitative feedback provided deeper insights into the complexities of health governance. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods allowed for a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing healthcare provision in conflict-affected regions, facilitating the development of targeted recommendations for policymakers and healthcare providers.FindingsThe study revealed significant governance challenges in healthcare delivery for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kalar, Iraq. Key findings included that 78.4% of respondents identified a lack of medical equipment as a major barrier, and 67.6% cited financial constraints as critical obstacles to implementing governance principles. Although 70.3% felt that national legal frameworks offered moderate support, gaps in practical application were evident. The involvement of IDPs in health governance through committees was notable, yet only 13.5% recognized community leaders’ influence. Targeted health policies were found effective, while mental health support emerged as a crucial area needing attention.Research limitations/implicationsThis study’s limitations include a reliance on self-reported data from healthcare employers, which may introduce bias and affect the accuracy of responses. The sample size may not fully represent the diverse perspectives of all stakeholders involved in healthcare delivery for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kalar. Additionally, the study’s focus on quantitative measures may overlook nuanced qualitative insights. Future research should incorporate broader stakeholder engagement, including IDPs and community leaders, and consider longitudinal studies to assess the evolving governance challenges. These insights can inform more comprehensive strategies to enhance healthcare service delivery in conflict-affected regions.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study have several practical implications for improving healthcare governance in Kalar, Iraq. Policymakers and healthcare providers should prioritize addressing resource limitations, particularly the lack of medical equipment and financial constraints. Strengthening legal frameworks to ensure effective implementation of health rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs) is crucial. Additionally, fostering greater community engagement by involving IDPs and local leaders in decision-making processes can enhance health governance. Targeted health policies, particularly in mental health support, should be developed and implemented to address the unique needs of displaced populations and improve overall healthcare delivery in conflict-affected areas.Social implicationsThe study highlights significant social implications for healthcare governance in Kalar, Iraq, particularly concerning internally displaced persons (IDPs). Enhancing healthcare delivery for IDPs can improve their overall well-being, promote social inclusion, and foster community cohesion. By involving IDPs in health governance and decision-making processes, their voices and needs can be acknowledged, leading to more tailored and effective healthcare services. Improved health outcomes can also reduce social stigma associated with displacement and contribute to rebuilding trust within the community. Ultimately, addressing the health needs of IDPs not only benefits them but also strengthens the resilience of the entire population in Kalar.Originality/valueThis study offers original insights into the governance challenges faced by healthcare providers in Kalar, Iraq, specifically regarding internally displaced persons (IDPs). By utilizing a mixed-methods approach, it reveals critical barriers to effective healthcare delivery, such as resource limitations and financial constraints, while highlighting the need for stronger legal frameworks and community engagement. The research adds value by providing actionable recommendations for policymakers and healthcare stakeholders aimed at improving health service delivery in conflict-affected regions. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health needs, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of health governance in humanitarian contexts.