Humanitarian ResponseResearch article
Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance
- Tsering Dolma · University of Delhi, India
- Sadia Mahmud · University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Amina Warsame · University of Nairobi, Kenya
- Sofia Alvarez · Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
Abstract
Humanitarian feedback systems can collect concerns without ensuring that recipients learn how those concerns were resolved. This study examines complaint pathways in food assistance programmes serving refugees in northern Uganda. Researchers traced 186 anonymised complaints, interviewed 52 recipients and 29 programme staff, and observed help desks at six distribution sites over four months. Case analysis distinguished acknowledgement, referral, substantive response, and communication of an outcome to the complainant. Most recorded complaints received an initial acknowledgement, but recipients often remained unsure whether a referral led to further action. Cases involving household-list discrepancies crossed organisational boundaries and took longer to resolve. Women with limited phone access were less likely to receive callback updates and relied on repeated in-person enquiries. The findings show why administrative closure should be assessed separately from a recipient's understanding of the outcome. Records exclude concerns never formally submitted and contain uneven detail. Feedback systems should identify responsibility for referrals and offer accessible ways for recipients to check progress and challenge unresolved errors.
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Cite this article
Dolma, T., Mahmud, S., Warsame, A., & Alvarez, S. (2025). Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance. Journal of Migration and Displacement. https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc
Dolma, Tsering, et al. “Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance.” Journal of Migration and Displacement, 2025, https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc.
Dolma, Tsering, Sadia Mahmud, Amina Warsame, and Sofia Alvarez. “Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance.” Journal of Migration and Displacement (2025). https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc.
Dolma, T. et al. (2025) ‘Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance’, Journal of Migration and Displacement. Available at: https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc (Accessed: 4 November 2026).
T. Dolma, S. Mahmud, A. Warsame, and S. Alvarez, “Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance,” Journal of Migration and Displacement, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc
Dolma T, Mahmud S, Warsame A, Alvarez S. Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance. Journal of Migration and Displacement [Internet]. 2025 Jul 31 [cited 2026 Nov 4]. Available from: https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc
@article{dolma2025feedback,
author = {Dolma, Tsering and Mahmud, Sadia and Warsame, Amina and Alvarez, Sofia},
title = {{Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance}},
journal = {Journal of Migration and Displacement},
year = {2025},
month = {jul},
publisher = {Dhaka International University},
url = {https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc},
keywords = {humanitarian accountability, refugee food assistance, complaint pathways, referral systems, Uganda},
abstract = {Humanitarian feedback systems can collect concerns without ensuring that recipients learn how those concerns were resolved. This study examines complaint pathways in food assistance programmes serving refugees in northern Uganda. Researchers traced 186 anonymised complaints, interviewed 52 recipients and 29 programme staff, and observed help desks at six distribution sites over four months. Case analysis distinguished acknowledgement, referral, substantive response, and communication of an outcome to the complainant. Most recorded complaints received an initial acknowledgement, but recipients often remained unsure whether a referral led to further action. Cases involving household-list discrepancies crossed organisational boundaries and took longer to resolve. Women with limited phone access were less likely to receive callback updates and relied on repeated in-person enquiries. The findings show why administrative closure should be assessed separately from a recipient's understanding of the outcome. Records exclude concerns never formally submitted and contain uneven detail. Feedback systems should identify responsibility for referrals and offer accessible ways for recipients to check progress and challenge unresolved errors.}
}TY - JOUR AU - Dolma, Tsering AU - Mahmud, Sadia AU - Warsame, Amina AU - Alvarez, Sofia TI - Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance JO - Journal of Migration and Displacement PY - 2025 DA - 2025/07/31 PB - Dhaka International University UR - https://jmddiu.org/articles/feedback-without-follow-up-complaint-pathways-in-refugee-food-assistance-e7f37ddc KW - humanitarian accountability KW - refugee food assistance KW - complaint pathways KW - referral systems KW - Uganda AB - Humanitarian feedback systems can collect concerns without ensuring that recipients learn how those concerns were resolved. This study examines complaint pathways in food assistance programmes serving refugees in northern Uganda. Researchers traced 186 anonymised complaints, interviewed 52 recipients and 29 programme staff, and observed help desks at six distribution sites over four months. Case analysis distinguished acknowledgement, referral, substantive response, and communication of an outcome to the complainant. Most recorded complaints received an initial acknowledgement, but recipients often remained unsure whether a referral led to further action. Cases involving household-list discrepancies crossed organisational boundaries and took longer to resolve. Women with limited phone access were less likely to receive callback updates and relied on repeated in-person enquiries. The findings show why administrative closure should be assessed separately from a recipient's understanding of the outcome. Records exclude concerns never formally submitted and contain uneven detail. Feedback systems should identify responsibility for referrals and offer accessible ways for recipients to check progress and challenge unresolved errors. ER -
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