A theoretically decentralized but internally centralized system: How Kismayo municipality deals with emergencies

By emmakelly|February 20, 2023|Blogs|0 comments

Aweis Ahmed Somalia adopted a federal system in 2004, almost two decades ago, and its implementation started in 2013, almost a decade ago. I expected that the decentralization of power from the federal government to the regional states would pave the way for the decentralization of delivery services to local communities. However, during my fieldwork in Jubaland’s interim capital, Kismayo, I felt that a strict centralized structure exists within the

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A Shadow of Fear: The Situation of IDPs and Returnees in Afgoye

By emmakelly|February 20, 2023|Blogs|0 comments

Farhia Mohamud Afgoye district is 30 kilometers from Mogadishu’s capital; Southwest state’s interim capital, Baidoa, is 196 kilometers away from Afgoye. This distance creates a void in establishing a durable solutions unit and implementing those plans in Afgoye because of the security concerns present in the town. Therefore, the burden of receiving IDPs and returnees fell on the shoulders of the host community due to the absence of institutional support

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“We have impoverished each other”: the depletion of resources for  host communities and the dilemma of durable solution for the IDPs in the Konso Zone and the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia

By emmakelly|January 12, 2023|Blogs|0 comments

Ethiopia set a world record for internally displaced people (IDPs) two times (in 2018 and 2021) in three years. As of March 2022, an estimated 5,582,000 persons were displaced within the country due to armed conflicts and natural disasters. Konso Zone situated in Southern Nations Nationalities and peoples Region (SNNPRS) and Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State (BGRS) are among the regions badly affected by conflict and displacement. About one hundred thousand of

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Caught between a rock and a hard place: Conflict, displacement, and drought in Konso, Ethiopia

By emmakelly|October 21, 2022|Blogs|0 comments

This blog is related to an upcoming research study on conflict and displacement in two regional states in Ethiopia. “… Whether we stay in this camp or return to our village, it is all the same. All our assets have been burnt down and destroyed. Now, even if peace will be restored, we have nothing left to lead our household. There is no rain to cultivate. Even these people who

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Who are the ‘returnees’ in South Sudan?

By emmakelly|September 13, 2022|Blogs|0 comments

South Sudan is experiencing different types of movements that are often labelled as ‘return’. Despite ongoing insecurity and a chronic shortage of essential services, it has been estimated that 505,511 refugees[1] and 1,183,666 IDPs have returned to their areas of origin within the country since 2018.[2] At the same time, with an estimated 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 2.2 million refugees registered in hosting countries, South Sudan remains

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The “Maid Trade” – The case of women migrants from Uganda to the Gulf Countries.

By emmakelly|September 5, 2022|Blogs|0 comments

This blog is related to an upcoming report by the Research and Evidence Facility on women’s labour migration to the Gulf Countries. The full report will be available in September 2022. I am a single mother of three children trying to fend for myself, the children and build a house. I went to Oman in 2014 through an agent who processed everything for me. I boarded a bus with four

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Closing the environment-migration gap in climate policy and programmes in the Horn of Africa

By emmakelly|August 3, 2022|Blogs|0 comments

This blog series is related to the REF’s ongoing study on climate change and migration in the Horn of Africa. This research study is being carried out in Ethiopia (Somali Region), Kenya (Tana River County) and Somaliland (Togdheer and Maroodijeex regions). The study investigates how people use migration as a strategy for adapting to environmental change and how people’s circumstances and profiles influence their migration decisions. The study also explores

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