Literature review on Human Capital Development in fragile contexts

Globally, conflict and state-society fragility are on the rise, and this trend is increasingly prevalent in many of the ETF partner countries. Fragility and conflict result in deteriorating human capital development outcomes, which cumulatively also further contribute to increased fragility and/or conflict. Conversely there are opportunities in these contexts for tailored support to contribute to strengthening resilience and peacebuilding, with the potential to mitigate the impacts of fragility and conflict. 

To strengthen its approach in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, the ETF has run a literature review to gather foundational evidence from available literature, condensed in this report, which contains an analysis of the current definitions of key fragility and conflict terms used by international organisations and research institutions, an overview of the approaches of key international agencies, a review of  available quantitative data and qualitative analysis on fragility, conflict and their impact on human capital development, and a summary of the implications for the ETF work in fragility and conflict-affected contexts.