Somali Region, Ethiopia – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Somali Regional State have, with the support from partners under the Ethiopia Durable Solutions Initiative (DSI), began the relocation of nearly 1,200 internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) households from the Qoloji IDP site - home to nearly 36,000 IDPs and the largest of the many settlements hosting conflict-displaced communities in Ethiopia. 

The first group of 100 households departed this week to Kebribeyeh relocation site, which will be followed by relocations to other areas in Fafan, Shabelle, and Dollo zones in Ethiopia’s Somali Region. 

The relocation is part of efforts to promote voluntary, safe, dignified and informed solutions to displacement and have been made possible through the collective efforts of IOM and partners including the UN Refugee Agency,  the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,  the UN Human Rights Office, Action for People In Need, the UN World Food Programme, sub-national Health, Food, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Education clusters as well as the  regional administration. 

IOM and the Disaster Risk Management Bureau (DRMB) of the Somali Region chapter of the Ethiopia Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) are leading the relocation exercise. 

The relocated households will receive a package of services from partners under the DSI. These include cash assistance, transitional housing, non-food items, provision of food rations, WASH related support, formal and informal education related interventions and other forms of contributions from both government and partners. 

Ethiopia’s internal displacement figures are staggering, in part due to internal upheaval and an unprecedent drought. There are an estimated 2.18 million IDPs in the country according to the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). 

“Durable Solutions take time and demand the integration of humanitarian and recovery related interventions to support transition towards sustainable solutions to displacement,” said Fatou Jah, the Durable Solutions Advisor for IOM Ethiopia, based in the IOM Jigjiga Sub Office in Somali Region. 

“The idea is to meet the household’s immediate needs while putting in place firm commitments and action towards longer term interventions so that displaced populations are supported to rebuild their lives and meet their diverse needs.” 

The relocation of the displaced households from Qoloji to Kebribeyeh is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC).

For more information contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie aseifeselassie@iom.int