IOM calls for ‘durable solutions’ to prevent displacement in Somalia
55-Year-old Salado and her family left their village in Gedo Region to a displacement site of Kaxareey in Dollow after losing all their livestock. Photo: Claudia Rosel/IOM
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has called on donors to invest in “durable solutions” to prevent displacement in Somalia which has reached a record 3.8 million people.
In a report on Tuesday, IOM warned that the “convergence of climate risks and conflict” in Somalia “could force tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in major cities and towns, particularly in Baidoa and Mogadishu where IOM projects that approximately 300,000 people could be newly displaced by July 2023.”
Another worry, IOM added, is that majority of “the newly displaced might never go back to their places of origin” because of unproductive land and insecurity caused by competition for scarce resources.
“As a result, entire families will be born and raised in informal settlements amid unsuitable living conditions,” the report read.
Commenting on the situation, Deputy Director General for Operations, Ugochi Daniels urged donors “to invest in the places of origin to foster resilience and to prevent further displacement from happening.”
She also highlighted the importance of addressing “basic services, working on social cohesion and stability, governance and justice system and climate change adaptation bringing communities together with their government and diaspora”, which she said will “lay the foundation towards a pathway for sustainable solution.”
The IOM projection comes amid weeks of deadly clashes in Somalia’s northern city of Las Anod between forces of breakaway Somaliland and pro-unionist local militias which have displaced thousands of citizens.
