ReliefWeb

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Continued insecurity and localized conflict between communities in Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region – SNNPR) and West Guji Zone (Oromia Region) have led to the rapid displacement of nearly 960,000 people between April and July 2018. Since mid-August, returns have begun toward areas of origin, though the situation for returnees remains precarious.
Many are unable to return to their original properties, and now gather in new collective sites in the kebele (town council) of origin.

Since the beginning of returns last month, over 265,000 individuals have reportedly been transported back to their area of origin through government facilitation. These movements now occur on a daily basis, affecting considerably the population in areas targeted by humanitarian interventions and making operational planning particularly challenging. As IDP destinations are also largely unknown, identifying new target areas and caseloads in need of humanitarian assistance requires multiple time- and resource-consuming assessments.

Additionally, humanitarian partners’ access to existing IDP sites and host communities has in many cases been restricted. IOM, alongside the rest of the humanitarian community and donors, is advocating to maintain access to the various locations where it intervenes and where lifesaving intervention remain needed.

In this changing context, IOM continues to pursue multisectoral interventions to address needs where they exist. IOM Site Management Support teams lead the identification of locations for service delivery, while WASH, ES/NFI, Health, and DTM teams support these collective sites and host communities with life-saving services and interagency coordination.