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OVERVIEW
The East and Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes (EHAGL) region is host to a significant number of internally displaced persons (IDPs). As of 31 March 2023, there were approximately 11.71 million IDPs in the region – mainly in Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. The drivers of displacement are complex, including conflict, persecution as well as climatic and natural disaster factors, often in situations where one factor compounds the others.
Considering that a significant proportion of displacements in the region stem from conflicts, and many conflicts remain active in a very fluid context, the protection focus is mainly on life-saving activities through protection monitoring and ensuring the provision of shelters and core relief items (CRIs). At the same time, there is a strong focus in the region on the pursuit of durable solutions. Despite numerous returns in the region, most are not facilitated and therefore difficult to quantify. The number of those displaced remains high. While each country in the region has different contextual factors around durable solutions, a more coordinated approach is being taken by UNHCR together with other actors – including development actors and donors – to promote and realise durable solutions initiatives in the region.
Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan are priority countries for the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement. In these countries, UNHCR has worked with UN teams on implementing the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, where durable solutions and data are the main priorities. UNHCR leads clusters on Protection, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, and Shelter/ Non-Food Items, and helped address internal displacement through community-based protection responses. However, limited funding hampered these efforts.