The study examined the economic impact of three camps in Rwanda, housing refugees from the Congo. They found that cash aid to the refugees had a greater positive impact on the host nations economy than did in-kind food aid. And 17.3 per cent of the surveyed businesses outside of the camps reported that their main customers were refugees living in the camps, researchers said. Researchers used economic modelling methods, based on local surveys, to simulate the impact of the refugees on the host-country economy within a 10-kilometre radius of the three refugee camps. In two of the camps, refugees received aid from the United Nations World Food Programme in the form of cash, while in the third camp the refugees received the same value of aid but in donated food.

Source: India Today June 27, 2016 08:15 UTC