Africa: Displaced Triplicates in the Last 15 Years Due to the Internal Conflicts

Displaced in South Sudan Photo: @UNHCRWestAfrica

November 25, 2024 Hour: 7:40 pm

The number of internally displaced persons in Africa has tripled over the past 15 years to 35 million, driven by conflicts in many countries on the continent and natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, indicates a report published on Tuesday.

The Internal Displacement Observatory (IDMC) study, published with figures for 2023 when 15 years of the Kampala Convention on Assistance to Displaced Persons are celebrated, indicates that 32.5 million of the 35 million people who have fled to other areas in their countries have done so because of conflict.

Of these, 80% are currently concentrated in just five countries, including the 9.1 million people internally displaced by the civil war in Sudan in 2023 (already more than 10 million in 2024), where the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis is taking place.

The next largest group of displaced persons from conflict is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.7 million), Somalia (3.9 million), Nigeria (3.3 million) and Ethiopia (2.9 million), according to IDMC figures.

The Qatar Red Crescent Society has distributed 12,000 hot meals to displaced families in #Gaza, offering vital relief amidst devastating conditions.

R.M., a father of 10 in a displacement camp, shares:
"Life here is catastrophic and inhumane. Food is scarce, prices are soaring,… pic.twitter.com/9u6j0shVif
— IFRC Middle East and North Africa (@IFRC_MENA) November 24, 2024

Displacement caused by natural disasters has almost sixfold in the period under review, from 1.1 million in 2009, when the African Union adopted the Kampala Convention, to 6.3 million in 2023.

That year was the second most affected by disasters of the 15 studied, due to events such as floods in the Horn of Africa or the effects of cyclone Freddy in the south-east of the continent.

It was only surpassed by 2022, with 7.4 million uprooted at that time caused by phenomena such as the floods in Nigeria or the catastrophic situation once again in the Horn of Africa, in that year affected by drought.

While the study estimates the total number of displaced persons in conflict situations, natural disasters account for movements, since it is common for those affected to leave their homes more than once even in a single year.

To date, 34 countries on the continent have adopted the Kampala Convention, in force since 2012, which is the only binding instrument at regional level that seeks to address the causes of internal displacement and support those affected by it at all stages.

“The situation of displacement in Africa is critical, but not desperate. There are many examples on the continent of governments working to address their causes, and it is important that they keep their attention on this issue as well as the support of the international community,” said IDMC director Alexandra Bilak.