Research Series Issue 54: Rural youth in the context of fragility and conflict

While conflicts are often defined as “development in reverse”, there is a general lack of research focusing specifically on young people living in rural areas.

Yet, from wider literature, we know that conflict is a cause of adversities across a range of economic and non-economic indicators. Exposure to violence increases infant mortality, reduces birthweight, harms child health, damages human capital accumulation, restricts performance in education and interacts negatively with labour market opportunities.

Despite this accumulated knowledge, key knowledge gaps remain, especially when it comes to understanding possible mitigation programmes.