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“Like a Drop of Water on a Fire”: Inadequate Investment in Durable Solutions for Drought IDPs in Ethiopia

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Etiopía
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RI
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Ann Hollingsworth

Summary

In the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia, drought internally displaced persons (IDPs)—people who have been forced to relocate because of the effects of severe drought—are now a forgotten population. More than 500,000 IDPs in the country have been displaced by drought and other climate-related causes, and almost 350,000 of them reside in the Somali region. Although they received some humanitarian assistance, including food and water, in the immediate wake of the devastating 2015–2016 drought, most of that initial support has ended. Now the situation is getting worse, especially for women and girls.

It became clear early on that the reason IDPs could not return home was because they had lost their livelihoods—most are pastoralists whose herds were decimated by the drought. Nevertheless, neither the government nor the international community made substantive investments in durable solutions, such as recovering livelihoods or facilitating the refugees’ integration into their new homes. IDPs therefore remained dependent on a humanitarian lifeline that offered them limited opportunity to become self-reliant and failed to promote the overall resilience of the host communities in which they settled. This missed opportunity has only prolonged aid dependency and suffering.

Drought IDPs have settled in IDP sites in sedentary Somali communities in and around the outskirts of towns and cities. They are often on friendly terms with their neighboring host communities. However, those local populations have also felt the impacts of the drought, lack access to sufficient public services, and generally have few resources to share. In locations where local clans are not the same as those of the displaced, integration can be even more challenging.

The humanitarian and development communities both have taken steps to acknowledge the importance of durable solutions, but challenges remain regarding policy implementation and securing adequate resources. The Somali regional government has worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to create a co-led Durable Solutions Working Group (DSWG). The DSWG has conducted laudable analysis but needs to further strengthen humanitarian and development actors’ support for drought IDP responses. The Ethiopian national government and the Somali regional government, as well as the international humanitarian and development communities, should rapidly shift their strategic planning and financial resources to supporting durable solutions, including local integration. They also must provide support for creating new livelihood opportunities and extend the reach of local services.

Finally, although drought predictions in the near term have been scaled back moderately, it still is imperative that planning be put in place to prepare for anticipated future droughts, given the vulnerability of those currently displaced and the potential for new displacement.