informal sector (UNHCR & World Bank, 2020). Within the camps, refugees who are fluent in English and Kiswahili can apply for special employment opportunities (‘incentive work’) with international organizations, which covers translators, enumerators, community mobilizers, cleaners, community health workers, food assistance distributors and others (IFC, 2018). These are often contractual workers who despite working full-time are given reduced ‘incentive pay’ ranging from $40-$55 a month for most workers instead of a full salary, which allows organizations to engage refugees legally (Betts, Sterck, & Omata, 2018).<sup>7</sup> While among the host community self-employment is the most common work activity, only 2 in 10 of employed refugees in Kakuma are self-employed (UNHCR & World Bank, 2020). Apart from the administrative and financial hurdle of obtaining a business license, refugees rarely arrive in camps with any assets and frequently do not have access to external financing to cover startup costs. Additionally, while refugees are allowed to engage in economic activity within the camps, the occupations they can work in are often restricted. In Kakuma and Kalobeyei for example, refugees are not allowed to own livestock or sell firewood and charcoal out of concerns about fueling tensions with the pastoralist host community (Betts, Sterck, & Omata, 2018). Most self-employed refugees therefore work as small shop owners or in the service industry, i.e., small, often informal, household-run businesses with low earning potential and a high risk of shutdown during lockdowns.

# **2.2 Evolution of the pandemic**

While Kenya’s first case of COVID-19 was recorded on March 13, 2020, the first COVID-19 case among refugees was registered in Dadaab in May 2020. Since then, total case numbers have continuously increased through the first half of 2021 (see Figure 1) to a total of 173,661 confirmed cases and 3,235 deaths as of June 8, 2021.<sup>8</sup> UNHCR reports over 550 confirmed COVID-19 cases among refugees in Kakuma and Kalobeyei and 16 deaths as of end of Q3 2021 since March 2020. The actual number of cases is likely to be much higher than the number of confirmed cases due to limited testing, an overall low vaccination rate (only about 1,000 refugees in both sites having received two doses of vaccine over the same period), and inadequate access to medical facilities and consultations.

In response to the pandemic, the government of Kenya implemented an extensive set of containment measures, including closures of all schools, bars, and indoor restaurants, a ban on international flights, a national dusk-to-dawn curfew, restrictions on public gatherings, limits on public transport passenger capacities and public information campaigns (World Bank, 2021). These measures were effective in all of Kenya from the day they were implemented, including in refugee camps. Although some containment measures were subsequently lifted (Figure 1), Kenya had on average consistently more stringent policies in place than other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (see Figure 5 in the appendix) which are expected to have had a considerable impact on the socioeconomic lives in national and refugee communities. On March 24, 2021, the country enacted a second lockdown in Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Machakos and Nakuru counties which entailed closures of schools and other

> 7 For example, in Kakuma and Kalobeyei over 1,200 teachers are employed by UNHCR and partners as incentive workers. They earn five times less than national teachers, while many have similar certification and perform the same job.

> 8 Data on COVID-19 cases in Kenya can be found on COVID-19 Dashboard from CSSE at John Hopkins University (Dong, Du, & Gardner, 533534.).

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