ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This background paper was developed for the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) by the RECAP project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (led by Diane Duclos and Jennifer Palmer) with contributions from Nyibol Elizabeth and Luga Aquila (Rift Valley Institute and Catholic University of South Sudan), Khairunissa Dhala (Open Society Foundation - International Migration Initiative), Manyoun Joseph, Bob Okello, Fadi Adleh, Sergio Bianchi (independent contributors), Jerry Lukendo Mbokani (Oneyouth Oneheart Initiative), Emmanuel Wetnhiak (Elected Refugee Youth Representative, DagorettiNairobi), Christopher Earney (UNHCR), Mustafa Abou Atieh (Human Call Association), Yazan Douedari, Mervat Alhaffar and Natasha Howard (NUS School of Public Health and LSHTM Syria Research Group), Nasser Fardousi, Harriet Ume, Phil Sheppard and Sian White (LSHTM and COVID-19 Hygiene Hub), Rita Giacaman (Birzeit University), Beverley Stringer and Kiran Jobanputra (Médecins Sans Frontières Manson Unit), Charlotte Walker (Montrose International), Pallavi Prabhakar (BRAC Uganda), staff from Relief International Turkey, International Alert, and Urban Refugees, and reviews from Abdulkarim Ekzayez (War Studies Department, King College London), Géraldine Chatelard (independent consultant anthropologist), Naomi Pendle (London School of Economics and Political Science), Melissa Parker (LSHTM), Annie Wilkinson (Institute of Development Studies) and Olivia Tulloch (Anthrologica). Partial funding was received from the United Kingdom’s Global Challenges Research Fund under grant number ES/P010873/1. This brief is the responsibility of SSHAP. KEY CONSIDERATIONS: COVID-19 AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND EAST AFRICA Contact: a.wilkinson@ids.ac.uk 21