The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) recently released a report, “Turning the tide on internal displacement: A development approach to solutions”. According to this study, more than 100 million people were forcibly displaced in 2022. Most of them were displaced within their home countries, marking the first time in history that such numbers have been recorded.
Report Findings and Statistics
At the close of 2021, over 59 million individuals were forcibly displaced within their own country due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, and the impacts of climate change. Before the onset of the war in Ukraine, it’s estimated that around 6.5 million people were internally displaced in the region. Predictions for the future are even grimmer; by 2050, it is anticipated that over 216 million people will be forced to move within their own nations due to climate change.
Furthermore, it was noted that disaster-related internal displacement occurred in over 130 countries and territories during 2021. The report also pointed out that approximately 30% of professional lives became unemployed and 24% couldn’t earn money as they did prior to displacement. Almost half of the households displaced internally saw less income after displacement.
The Impact of Displacement
Internally displaced persons struggle to meet their basic needs and find decent work or a stable source of income. Female and youth-headed households are more significantly impacted. The most affected regions by forced displacement include Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and parts of the Americas. The global impact of internal displacement was estimated to be over USD 21.5 billion in 2021, accounting for the financial cost of providing displaced persons with housing, education, health, and security.
A lack of standardized and accepted statistics on displacement has led to a scarcity of policies to support displaced individuals.
Suggestions for Improvement
The UNDP report calls for long-term development action to counter the increasing levels of internal displacement. Humanitarian aid alone cannot overcome the problem. New strategies are needed to address the consequences of internal displacement through a development approach. The report proposes five key pathways to development solutions:
1. Strengthening governance institutions
2. Boosting socioeconomic integration through access to jobs and services
3. Restoring security
4. Enhancing participation
5. Building social cohesion
About United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
The UNDP is the global development network of the UN. It was established in 1965 by merging the United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance and the United Nations Special Fund.
The UNDP provides expert advice, training, and grants support to developing countries with an emphasis on the least developed ones. It’s funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations. The UNDP Executive Board is comprised of representatives from 36 countries who serve on a rotating basis.
UNDP is central to the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), a network that spans 165 countries and brings together 40 UN funds, programs, specialized agencies, and other bodies working to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The UNDP also publishes the Human Development Index, a critical resource used globally to measure and analyze human development trends.