Every year, hundreds of thousands of migrants embark on dangerous journeys, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, to reach the Gulf States via Djibouti and Yemen. IOM appeals for $81 million to help over a million migrants in East and Southern Africa Refugees and Migrants
The International Organization for Migration and 45 IOM humanitarian and development partners have appealed for $81 million to provide life-saving assistance to over a million migrants and the communities hosting them in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya and Yemen.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of migrants embark on perilous journeys, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, to reach the Gulf States via Djibouti and Yemen. Alternatively, migrants travel via Kenya and Tanzania in the hope of reaching South Africa. These life-threatening journeys, IOM said in a statement, are mostly undertaken by migrants desperate for work due to dire economic conditions and poverty, and in some cases violence and political instability in their home countries. Climate shocks and natural disasters are also increasingly driving migration. “Every day, countless women, men and children face deadly danger along Africa’s eastern and southern migration routes,” said Amy Pope, IOM Director-General. “Without immediate support for migrants and the communities that host them, suffering will deepen, tensions will rise and vital assistance will remain unavailable.” Last year, IOM tracked 446,000 displacements along the Gulf route, 10 per cent of which were children. Migrants along this route often face hunger and dehydration. According to IOM’s Missing Migrants project, at least 559 people died along the eastern and southern routes in 2024, with many more deaths unreported. Women and girls, who make up almost a third of all people on the move, are often subject to sexual and gender-based violence. Migrants also often face exploitation and abuse, risk being trafficked and detained without a proper legal basis. According to IOM, 1.4 million migrants and the communities that host them along these routes will require assistance this year. They need food, clothing, health care, water, sanitation and hygiene items, psychosocial support, and, where necessary, assistance with voluntary return and reintegration. IOM’s migrant response remains chronically underfunded. An appeal for $112 million was launched in 2024, but only 20 percent of that amount has been raised so far.