The UPM Platform on Refugees , thanks to the funding of the General Directorate for Cooperation of the UPM, is working in the Shimelba refugee camp and its host community to improve the living conditions of the population. To this end, a methodology was developed to allow a comprehensive assessment of the needs of both the local and refugee population, as well as the differences between them, by applying an interdisciplinary approach. Information about the needs of the population regarding energy, habitat, water, food security, education, health, infrastructure and transport was gathered through different procedures.

The research lines of the Platform members contribute to the topics analyzed within of a multidisciplinary work. . It is worth mentioningthe general context and the priorities of the population were considered in the design of these proposals.

The results indicate that the most obvious differences are observed in the access to basic electricity services and in the quality of the houses, to the disadvantage of the Shimelba refugee camp. Only in the case of school infrastructure and sanitation (latrines) are the differences in favour of the refugee camp. In the rest of the sectors analysed, such as access to water, power for cooking, infrastructure and food security, both communities are in rather precarious situations, but there are no imbalances.

Thanks to the NAUTIA methodology, needs can be prioritised, both in terms of the disparity between the host community and refugees, and in absolute terms. After identifying these priorities, the next step is to propose a set of actions through co-creation processes with both communities, in accordance with the capacities of UPM and its partners in the field.