IDP Numbers Drop in East and Horn of Africa in 2019 But Climate Concerns Persist
In its new report, Region on the Move, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the drastic drop in regional internally displaced persons (IDPs) is due to 1.3 million Ethiopians returning home who had previously fled communal violence. In mid 2019, the region was home to 8.1 million IDPs and 3.5 million refugees and asylum-seekers but by year’s end, 3.5 million refugees and asylum seekers remained and 6.3 million displaced, accounting for a 22% drop. Despite this, IOM found 2019 displacements persisted largely due to climate and environmental hazards such as the prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa, which impacted food security in parts of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Djibouti. Concerns persist about new displacements in Somalia and South Sudan, as well as climate displacements. Last year, flooding and heavy rains devastated the region and the rains created the right conditions for desert locusts whose breeding is currently impacting East African crops again in Ethiopia and Somalia, but spreading to Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and South Sudan. (Reliefweb)