BY STAFF REPORTER
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, said on Wednesday that climate emergencies such as droughts, floods, and wildfires were causing the forced migration of civilians in the Horn of Africa region. IOM said in a statement that over 2 million people had been internally displaced in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia due to prolonged dry spells.
IOM’s Deputy Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa Justin McDermott called for a cross-border response to address the growing crisis of forced migration and ethnic tensions, which are fueled by climate-induced calamities such as droughts in the region. McDermott added that policy coherence and speedy implementation of local, national, and regional interventions were imperative to tackle climate emergencies and their spillovers, including forced mobility.
According to relief agencies, more than 20 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are grappling with acute food insecurity due to the worst drought that has hit the Horn of Africa region in the last four decades. McDermott said that tackling the climate crisis would aid efforts to stabilize human mobility, peace, and green growth. The IOM and partners have convened a two-day workshop in Nairobi
to explore innovative ways to address climate change as a means to spur green economic development and safe mobility in the region. The Horn of Africa region is often described as a climate hotspot, with regular occurrences of droughts, floods, landslides, and wildfires triggering large-scale displacement of civilians, including nomads and subsistence farmers.
Source: Themedialine.org
The Ethiopian Herald March 18/2023
