Not less that 71 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. According to the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the number has jumped as a result of conflicts and climate disasters that brought displacement on an unprecedented scale.
IDMC revealed in its report that the figure represented a 20% increase since 2021, with an unprecedented number of people fleeing in search of safety and shelter.
There has been no relief in 2023 after a year of conflict in Ukraine, Syria, Ethiopia, and elsewhere.
The report noted that nearly three-quarters of the world’s displaced people now live in 10 countries, including Syria, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ukraine and Sudan, due to conflicts that prompted significant displacement in 2022.
The UN migration agency earlier reported this week that the war in Sudan between the army and a rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has already displaced 700,000 people in a couple of weeks.
“Conflict and disasters combined last year to aggravate people’s pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities, triggering displacement on a scale never seen before,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
“The war in Ukraine also fuelled a global food security crisis that hit the internally displaced hardest. This perfect storm has undermined years of progress made in reducing global hunger and malnutrition.”
The affected countries as said in the report face extreme levels of food insecurity, a problem made worse by the conflict in Ukraine, a leading grain exporter.
Alexandra Bilak, IDMC’s director, said: “Today’s displacement crises are growing in scale, complexity and scope, and factors like food insecurity, climate change, and escalating and protracted conflicts are adding new layers to this phenomenon.
“Greater resources and further research are essential to help understand and better respond to IDPs’ needs,” she said.
The IDMC indicated further that the bulk of displaced people last year – 32.6 million – was due to disasters including floods, droughts and landslides.
Internal displacement refers to persons compelled to move within their own boundaries, and the report of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre did not include those who fled for other nations.