Short and longer‐term impacts of Child Friendly Space Interventions in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, Uganda

This article summarises the findings of the first rigorous analysis of both short‐ and longer‐term impacts of Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). It followed refugee children over an 18-month period and investigated the impact of CFS on their psychosocial well‐being and developmental assets.

The study found that attendance at CFSs – particularly involving higher‐quality programming – supported children's well‐being and development. There were significantly stronger impacts for girls. At follow‐up, however, there were no discernible impacts of prior CFS attendance on any measures.

The study concludes that humanitarian programming needs to address the challenge of connecting children to other resources to facilitate developmental progress in conditions of protracted displacement.