In 2022, over 1,814,452 individuals were displaced across Somalia.1 Of these, 1,177,820 individuals were displaced because of the ongoing severe drought, while 606,799 were displaced due to conflict and insecurity. The largest displacements took place in Bay, Hiraan and Lower Shabelle, while Banadir, Hiran, Galgadud received the largest number of newly displaced families.
Relocation initiatives are complex, time- and resource-intense, inter-sectorial undertakings that should be well planned, financed, and executed. This requires a collaborative and inclusive process led by the local authorities.
Displacement is shaping Somalia’s urban landscape and contributing to the country’s rapid urbanization. Somalia’s cities are struggling to cope with the immediate and longer-term demands posed by their fast-growing populations and the arrival of people fleeing drought and conflict in rural areas. Approximately 85% of the sites are informal settlements on private land and about 90% of them are in urban areas. Forced evictions constitute a growing problem in Somalia, on such a scale that it could be described as an epidemic. In 2022, over 188,186 forced evictions were recorded with 77% of these in the Banadir region.
There exist good emerging practices on how major government-led relocation initiatives across Somalia have promoted durable solutions through securing longer-term land tenure security, improving service delivery and better living conditions, and mitigating the negative effects associated with forced evictions and the commodification of IDP settlements.
Success has been ensured by multi-sector integration into planning and the operationalization of the humanitarian/development/peacebuilding nexus.