Sustainability 2021, 13, x. https://do i.o rg/10.3390/xxxxx www.mdpi.c o m/journal/sustainability Type of the Paper (Review) 1 Sustainability in Refugee Camps: A Systematic Review and 2 Meta-Analysis 3 Mai Wardeh 1, * and Rui Cunha Marques 2 4 1 Civil Eng ineering Research and Inno vatio n fo r S ustainability (CERIS ), Instituto S uperio r Tecnico, University 5 of Lisbon, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal; mai.wardeh@tecnico.ulisboa.pt 6 2 Civil Eng ineering Research and Inno vatio n fo r S ustainability (CERIS ), Instituto S uperio r Tecnico, University 7 of Lisbon, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal; rui.marques@tecnico.ulisboa.pt 8 * Correspondence: mai.wardeh88@gmail.com 9 Abstract: Many studies have stated the results of interventions presented in refugee camps toim- 10 prove the quality of refugees' lives and reduce their suffering. However, there has been no formal 11 systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the evidence of the relative effectiveness ofthese 12 interventions along with sustainability and the current 2030 agenda. We developed a comprehen- 13 sive search strategy designed to identify all peer-reviewed articles which presented interventions 14 related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a refugee camp setting. We examined only 15 articles with a specific focus on development goals. We screened the titles and,where necessary,the 16 abstracts of 1108 publications. 72 studies were judged to contain relevant evidence and were re- 17 viewed in detail. Data were extracted from these studies and pooled by meta -analysis to provide 18 summary estimates of the effectiveness of existing procedures. Health and educationsectors were 19 the most frequently discussed SDGs. Results and recommendations from includedstudies were cat- 20 egorized into seven sectors: planning, development and shelters; health a nd well-being;education; 21 water and sanitation; energy; work and economic growth; and others. In order to improve the qual- 22 ity of life of refugees and internally displaced persons living in camps, more researchthataddresses 23 both SDGs and camp planning and management is needed. This study is the first review found in 24 the literature to report on sustainability in refugee camps. 25 Keywords: refugee camp; sustainable development goals (SDGs); millennium developmentgoals 26 (MDGs); review 27 28 1. Introduction 29 The Numbers of people affected by conflicts is growing worldwide. As of mid-2020, 30 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) documented 26.3 million 31 refugees. Yet controversy about refugee camps (RCs) and their longevity persist which is 32 a problem magnified by time. However, RCs, mainly those affected by the political crisis, 33 are still considered as a temporary issue, even when there is evidence that these crises will 34 stay for a long period. 35 While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were agreed by world leaders in 36 2015 as Part of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 12 SDGs out of 17 are 37 relevant to persons of concerns to UNHCR including refugees and internally displaced 38 persons (IDP) [1]. A new document by UNHCR sets out the ways in which the SDGs and 39 the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) are aligned where the document proposed a com- 40 plementary framework to ensure that refugees and their host communities (HCs) are not 41 left behind through development procedures. It highlights the contribution made by the 42 GCR related to 16 SDGs [2]. An outstanding question that comes to mind is to what extent 43 RCs are sustainable and whether sustainability, SDGs and the targets are taken into ac- 44 count when it comes to a RC. 45 Citation: Wardeh, M.; Marques, R. Sustainability in Refugee Camps: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analy- sis. Sustainability 2021, 13, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx Academic Editor: Firstname Last- name Received: date Accepted: date Published: date Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu- tral with re gard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication unde r the te rms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/license s/by/4.0/).