Displacement figures rise
New figures show that more than 70.8 million people are displaced worldwide – the highest figure recorded.
Of these, more than 41.3 million are internally displaced. This means that more than two out of three displaced people are not refugees, but remain within their own country.
About 10 million of the world’s 41.3 million internally displaced people are based in sub-Saharan Africa. That’s more than any other region.
A recently released United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report shows that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Ethiopia and Nigeria are the African countries with the highest numbers of internally displaced people.
Of the 10 countries worldwide with the highest numbers of displaced people, seven are African countries – Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen are the non-African countries.
The reasons for internal displacement vary, but violence is a common factor.
In the DRC, displacement is triggered by many different ongoing conflicts. It’s hard to be sure of the exact number, but between three and 4.5 million Congolese were displaced at the end of 2018.
In Somalia, armed conflict and food insecurity are common causes of displacement.
Ethiopia saw a remarkably high increase of 2.9 million newly displaced people in 2018, caused mostly by inter and intracommunal violence along the borders of the Oromia region.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, new displacement took place mostly in the marginalised northeast of the country due to the further rise of Boko Haram.
Other causes of displacement in other parts of the country are related to competition between pastoralists and farmers, criminal violence and flooding.
The biggest concerns of displaced people are to find shelter, find ways to make a living, access basic services – such as healthcare and education – and to become locally accepted.
For many people, displacement is not a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s something they experience repeatedly: when the security situation improves, they return. When it deteriorates, they move to another place.
Jacobs is assistant professor, Leiden University
Republished from TheConversation.com
About 10 million of the world’s 41.3 million internally displaced people are based in sub-Saharan Africa.