Attachments
Executive Summary
The 21st century has witnessed a global surge in refugee numbers, profoundly impacting politics worldwide. The East and Horn of Africa, regions long grappling with political instability, face particularly acute challenges with high numbers of refugees, internally displaced populations and returnees.
As of October 2024, the region hosts 5.5 million refugees and asylum seekers, representing nearly one-sixth of the global refugee population, and 21.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The protracted nature of this crisis has led to multi-generational refugee populations, with some individuals reporting having both children and grandchildren born in camps. Climate change has exacerbated resource contestation, further fueling regional instability and increasing refugee flows. Concurrently, changing political and economic outlooks in donor countries, as well as refugee crises in other parts of the world, have strained global resources dedicated to burden-sharing, particularly in developing countries.
The protracted nature of the refugee crisis in East Africa and the Horn of Africa has put pressure on the countries of the region to respond in ways that mitigate the risk of importing violence and instability, address the economic and employment challenges faced by their own nationals, while at the same time upholding their commitments to international treaties and protocols ensuring humane conditions for refugees. Government responses have varied widely, ranging from policies that integrate refugees into the economy and society (barring voting rights) to those requiring refugees to reside in camps with limited opportunities for work or self-sufficiency.
In recent years, there has been a growing recognition that refugees, regardless of the duration of their stay, can contribute to local economies while developing skills that facilitate their eventual reintegration. Increasingly, refugee self-reliance is considered an integral component of the long-term economic development challenge faced by countries in the region.
To deepen its commitment to this aspect of development, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to focus on activities that support Member States’ efforts to promote the economic empowerment of refugees, returnees, and their host communities.