Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABEBA: December 14 (EI) – Around 425,000 people are estimated to be living in internal displacement in Ethiopia as a result of drought, a new report published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) revealed.
The newly published report, which was published under the theme “Nothing to Put in Your Mouth: Seeking Durable Solutions to Drought Displacement in Ethiopia” on late Friday, also noted that children and youth make up half of the estimated 425,000 Ethiopians living in internal displacement due to drought.
The report, noting the Ethiopian government’s recent initiative to find lasting solutions to displacement in the East African country, also called for “more investments” in local capacity and resilience efforts.
The study examines the drivers of displacement in pastoralist communities of the arid and semi-arid lowland areas of Ethiopia, and provides a better understanding of conditions and priorities for local integration to support policy and programming for durable solutions based on interviews and qualitative methodologies conducted in July 2019 in the Somali region of Ethiopia.
“In the Somali region, displacement occurs when pastoral livelihoods reach a critical threshold below which pastoralism is unsustainable,” the report said, adding that there are “many contributing factors to displacement in the region, and droughts that are becoming more frequent and intense are an important one.”
Noting that nearly 56,000 households affected by the drought that hit the region between 2015 to 2017, the report also indicated that the affected people “are still displaced in the Somali region.”
It also said that another 36,000 people were displaced in the context of drought in the East African country, mainly in the Somali region, between January and June 2019.
“Despite the scale and duration of displacement associated with drought in Ethiopia, it has been overshadowed by the recent fighting and become a forgotten crisis. Many of these people have nowhere to return to, so alternative solutions must be found,” said Pablo Ferrandez, IDMC researcher and the report’s author.
The report also stressed that addressing displacement triggered by drought in a way that goes beyond providing immediate assistance implies increased livelihood recovery activities.
“Those displaced by drought feel that access to work and economic opportunities are key requirements for advancing durable solutions,” it said.
