Published on Sustainable Cities

What it takes to help internally displaced persons

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A total of 40 million people are estimated to be displaced within their countries as a result of conflict and violence. 
Of the world’s conflict-induced internally displaced persons (IDPs), 76% are concentrated in just ten countries. Many of the countries have struggled with high levels of displacement for decades.

On World Refugee Day, following the recent release of the annual Global Report on Internal Displacement 2018 by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), IDMC Director Alexandra Bilak speaks with Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez (@Ede_WBG), the World Bank’s Senior Director of the Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, about the report and key areas of engagement on the issue of IDPs.

A key message of the report is that failure to address long-term displacement has the potential to undermine the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development  and progress on other international agreements. To make genuine progress at the national, regional and international levels, there needs to be constructive and open dialogue on internal displacement. This must be led by countries impacted by the issue, with the support of international partners, and in line with their national priorities and realities, according to the report.

While continuing to monitor and assess internal displacement and sudden-onset disasters, IDMC will also focus in the coming years on building a more comprehensive understanding of drought-related displacement and internal displacement in cities, as well as expanding research into the economic costs of internal displacement. Watch the video to learn more. Related:


Authors

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez

Former Regional Director, Africa, Sustainable Development Practice Group

Alexandra Bilak

Director of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)

Mariko Yamamoto

Junior Professional Officer

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