The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and 47 partners have appealed for $84m to help more than 1 million migrants in the Horn of Africa region.
The funds will be used to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the migrants and the communities hosting them, many of whom are vulnerable and in need of urgent help, along the Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, the IOM said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday evening.
The appeal, made through the Regional Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen Framework, will address the dire humanitarian needs as well as protection risks and vulnerabilities that migrants in the region face and scale up the delivery of lifesaving and resilience-building initiatives as well as pursue the implementation of long-term sustainable solutions for migrants and host communities.
“Mobility in the Horn of Africa, through Yemen and to the Gulf States, continues to be triggered by interconnected crises, including persistent insecurity and conflict, harsh climatic conditions, and public health emergencies, in addition to socioeconomic drivers and more traditional seasonal factors,” the IOM said.
Thousands of migrants leave their countries in the Horn of Africa every year and move along the Eastern Route toward Gulf countries. In their migration, most migrants make the dangerous crossing of the Red Sea through Bossaso in Somalia, and Djibouti’s coastal town of Obock to Yemen and further by land to Gulf countries, the United Nations migration agency said.
According to the IOM, the Eastern Route is one of the busiest, most complex, and dangerous migratory routes in the world. In 2022 overall, the number of migrants who entered Djibouti almost doubled compared to the previous year.
In the same year, 89 migrant deaths or disappearances were recorded along the route due to hazardous transportation, illness, harsh environmental conditions, drowning at sea, and violence. Many more deaths and disappearances went unreported.
