Jameel Observatory PhD student Rosie Herrington and colleagues published a scoping review investigating what empirical evidence exists on the role of livestock ownership in the nutrtion of refugees and internally displaced people (IDP).
Published in Nutrition Research Reviews, the authors argue that as human displacement rises, the humanitarian funding environment fluxes, and undernutrition continues to affect refugees and internally displaced communities, there is a need for evidence to better understand pathways to healthy, self-reliant livelihoods.
In non-displaced contexts, livestock-keeping has been shown to increase resilience to malnutrition during crises and improve food security but much less evidence is available in displacement camp contexts.
This systematic review of empirical evidence on the role of livestock ownership in refugee/IDP nutrition identified 21 studies, of which 12 reported positive effects of livestock keeping on nutritional outcomes in the refugee/IDP camp setting, 3 reported mixed effects and 6 determined no effect. No study found a solely negative effect.
The human nutritional outcomes studied included anaemia, stunting, wasting, dietary diversity and food security proxies. One study explored the general impact of livestock ownership whilst the remainder explored the association between animal source food consumption and nutritional outcomes.
Overall however the authors noted “distinct dearth of research investigating the nutritional and health impacts of livestock keeping amongst refugees”, and they observed “inconsistencies between the included publications in terms of the study design, data analysis and measures investigated which make comparisons and corroborations challenging.” They call for more, and more robust research on these topics.
More:
Download the article: Herrington, R., El-Gayar, A., Okoth, J., Boden, L. and Thomas, L.F. 2026. The role of livestock in the nutrition of refugees and internally displaced people: A scoping review. Nutrition Research Reviews.
Funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Rosie’s PhD research aims to enhance food decurity among long-term displaced people in Kenya. Partnering with UNHCR and Save the Children, her fieldwork takes place at the Dadaab Refugee Complex. Photos below were taken in late 2025.
