electricsheepafrica/africa-idps-all

Refugee & Displaced Population Health Dataset

Abstract

This dataset provides 30,000 simulated refugee/IDP health records (10,000 per scenario) from sub-Saharan Africa. Each record contains 45+ variables including displacement context, WASH, nutrition (SAM/MAM), communicable diseases (malaria, diarrhoea, measles, cholera), reproductive health, mental health (PTSD, depression), and mortality. Three settings: established camp (1.4% mortality), transit settlement (2.5%), and urban displaced (2.4%).

1. Introduction

In 2023, an estimated 74 million individuals in Africa were either internally displaced or refugees (ALMA 2024). UNHCR reports increasing child mortality, dropping vaccination coverage, and rising malaria, cholera, and malnutrition in camps. Over 1,200 refugee children under-5 died in Sudan camps from measles and malnutrition in 2023. Under-5 mortality can reach 2-70x baseline during acute displacement phases.

This dataset is entirely simulated. It must not be used for clinical decision-making.

2. Methodology

2.1 Parameterization

Parameter	Value	Source
Displaced in Africa	74M (2023)	ALMA 2024
U5 deaths Sudan camps	1200+	WHO/UNHCR 2023
U5 mortality excess	2-70x baseline	PubMed 1990
PTSD prevalence	~25%	UNHCR 2024
Priority diseases	Malaria, measles, diarrhoea, cholera	UNHCR
SAM in transit camps	~35%	UNHCR 2024

2.2 Scenario Design

Scenario	Health Services	WASH	Vaccination	Mortality
Established camp	Yes	Yes	70%	1.4%
Transit settlement	Yes	No	35%	2.5%
Urban displaced	No	Yes	45%	2.4%

3. Schema

Column	Type	Description
id	int	Unique identifier
age_years	int	Age
sex	categorical	M / F
under_5	binary	Under 5 years
pregnant	binary	Pregnant
unaccompanied_minor	binary	Unaccompanied minor
displacement_type	categorical	refugee / idp / returnee
country_origin	categorical	Country of origin
displacement_duration_months	int	Duration
displacement_cause	categorical	armed_conflict / violence / natural_disaster / famine
safe_water_access	binary	Safe water
adequate_sanitation	binary	Sanitation
adequate_shelter	binary	Shelter
overcrowded	binary	Overcrowding
muac_cm	float	MUAC (children)
sam / mam	binary	Severe/moderate acute malnutrition
malaria	binary	Malaria
diarrhoea	binary	Diarrhoea
ari	binary	Acute respiratory infection
measles	binary	Measles
cholera	binary	Cholera
ptsd_symptoms	binary	PTSD symptoms
depression_symptoms	binary	Depression
mhpss_received	binary	MHPSS received
vaccinated_measles	binary	Measles vaccination
itn_access	binary	ITN access
died	binary	Died

4. Validation

Key validation checks:

• Mortality gradient: 1.4% → 2.5% → 2.4% ✓
• Under-5 higher mortality ✓
• SAM: 21% (camp) → 36% (transit) ✓
• Diarrhoea/WASH link: Higher without safe water ✓
• PTSD: ~25% in adults ✓
• Armed conflict: Dominant displacement cause ✓

5. Usage

from datasets import load_dataset
dataset = load_dataset("electricsheepafrica/refugee-displaced-health", "transit_settlement")
df = dataset["train"].to_pandas()

6. Limitations

• Simulated: Not from real UNHCR/HIS data.
• No geospatial: No camp location or mapping.
• No longitudinal: Snapshot, no displacement trajectory.
• Simplified: No detailed clinical management data.
• Sensitive: Must be used with ethical consideration.

7. References

1. UNHCR (2024). Healthy lives Global Appeal.
2. WHO/UNHCR (2023). Deteriorating health in Sudan camps.
3. ALMA (2024). Africa Malaria Progress Report.
4. PubMed (2017). IDP health problems Africa.
5. PubMed (2024). Epidemics in complex emergencies.
6. UNHCR. Refugee health priority interventions.
7. PubMed (1990). Excess mortality in refugee populations.

Citation

@dataset{esa_refugee_health_2025,
  title={Refugee and Displaced Population Health Dataset},
  author={Electric Sheep Africa},
  year={2025},
  publisher={Hugging Face},
  url={https://huggingface.co/datasets/electricsheepafrica/refugee-displaced-health}
}

License

CC-BY-4.0