Flow Monitoring

In order to increase the availability of evidence on rural to urban migration flows and trends, as well as needs, coping mechanisms and motivations of drought-affected persons, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Data and Research Unit (DRU), through the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) methodology, set up and piloted two internal Flow Monitoring Points (FMPs) in Gode and Jigjiga, two major urban centres in the Somali region of Ethiopia. The pilot ran from June 2023 through August 2023.

This dashboard focuses on data collected in August 2023 through the FMR tool in Gode and Jigjiga FMPs. In August 2023, 12,619 movements were observed, 7,029 of which were through Gode FMP (55.70%) and 5,590 through Jigjiga FMP (44.30%).

In February 2024, a total of 36,277 movements were observed across the six flow monitoring points (FMPs) in Ethiopia. This represents a 4.2% decrease in daily average movements in comparison with January 2024 when an average of 1,305 movements per day were observed.

The ratio between outgoing movements (63%) during February and incoming movements (37%) remained the same as the previous month. A total of 22,762 outgoing movements were observed, out of which 10,954 (48.1%) were heading to Saudi Arabia, 4,689 (20.6%) were going to Kenya, 2,029 (8.9%) to Djibouti, 1,367 (6%) to Somalia, 1,105 (4.9%) to South Africa, 859 (3.8%) to Yemen, and 668 (2.9%) to Sudan, while remaining movements were heading to other Southern African, Middle Eastern, North American and European countries.

At the same time, 13,515 incoming movements were observed, out of which 8,763 (64.9%) originated from Sudan, while 2,276 (16.8%) came from Kenya, 1,393 (10.3%) from Djibouti, 790 (5.8%) from Somalia and 293 (2.2%) came from other Middle Eastern and African countries. Most incoming movements were by Ethiopians (67.1%), followed by Sudanese nationals (31.4%). Returning Ethiopians departed from Sudan (48%), Kenya (25%), Djibouti (15.1%), Somalia (8.7%), Yemen (2%), Saudi Arabia (1.1%) and Tanzania (0.1%).

En janvier 2024, 26 992 mouvements migratoires ont été observés sur l’ensemble des points de suivi des flux (FMP) à Djibouti soit une baisse de 9 pour cent par rapport à décembre 2023. Cette baisse est liée aux contrôles menés sur certaines routes migratoires par les autorités djiboutiennes. Dans la même période de janvier les individus entrants en provenance d’Ethiopie ont connu une hausse de 14 pour cent par rapport à décembre 2023 principalement dû aux températures considérées par les migrants comme étant favorables pour emprunter la route migratoire à cette période.
Durant janvier, le nombre de migrants de retours spontanés ou forcés enregistrés dans les régions d’Obock et de Tadjourah a quasiment triplé passant de 286 en décembre 2023 à 775 en janvier 2024, principalement en raison des contrôles des autorités au niveau des côtes Yéménites.

In January 2024, 26,992 migratory movements were observed at all Djibouti's Flow Monitoring Points (FMPs) with a decrease of 9 per cent compared with December 2023. This drop is linked to the controls carried out on certain migration routes by the Djibouti authorities. During the same period in January, the number of people entering Djibouti from Ethiopia rose by 14 per cent compared with December 2023, mainly due to the temperatures which migrants consider to be favourable for taking the migration route at this time of year. During January, the number of spontaneous or forced returnees recorded in the Obock and Tadjourah regions almost tripled, rising from 286 in December 2023 to 775 in January 2024, mainly due to controls by the authorities on the Yemeni coast.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Pakistan collects data on the outflows of Afghans at the Torkham (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Badini, Bahramcha and Chaman (Balochistan) border crossing points (BCPs) to better understand the movements of Afghans returning to Afghanistan. The data presented below is harmonised with those from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who also cover Ghulam Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). On 26 September 2023, the Ministry of Interior in Pakistan announced its decision to enact its “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan (IFRP)”. Between 16 and 31 March 2024, 7,532 Afghan nationals returned to Afghanistan, including 5,057 through the Torkham BCP, 1,149 through the Chaman BCP, 1326 through the Ghulam Khan BCP, while no Afghan nationals returned through the Badini BCP. In addition, border authorities deported 74 individuals due to a lack of valid documentation. Since 1 January 2024, IOM identified 54,227 returns at the four BCPs. 

DTM Europe gathers, validates and disseminates information on migrants and refugees travelling through the Mediterranean, Western African Atlantic, and Western Balkan routes to Europe. Key routes include:

• Eastern Mediterranean route (EMR): Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece
• Central Mediterranean route (CMR): Italy and Malta
• Western Mediterranean route (WMR): Peninsular Coasts of Spain, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla
• Western African Atlantic route (WAAR): Canary Islands of Spain

DTM also monitors data on migrants in transit through the Western Balkans (WB) region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, and Kosovo*). These are considered separately to prevent to the extent possible the double counting of the same persons that cross multiple borders to reach Europe.

This report presents the latest available data and trends, focusing on 2023:

• Mixed Migration Flows to Europe
• Migrant Flows Monitoring in the Republic of Türkiye
• First Arrival countries (Italy, Greece, Spain) and other countries of first arrival (Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta)
• Transits through the Western Balkan region
• Migrants' presence, in Europe and the Republic of Türkiye

Over the reporting period, a total of 2,754 cross-border movements were observed at the Flow Monitoring Points (FMPs). The average daily number flows was 131. This represented an 2 per cent decrease compared to January, during which 134 individual movements were observed on a daily basis. Mozambique (59%), Malawi (40%), South Africa (<1%) and United Republic of Tanzania (<1%) were the main countries of departure, while Malawi (58%), Mozambique (41%), Zimbabwe (<1%) and South Africa (<1%) were the main countries of intended destination of individuals passing through the different FMPs. Out of 2,754 individuals observed, 65 per cent were males and 35 per cent were females. There were 35 women who were visibly pregnant. Boys and girls (males and females below 18) made up 17 per cent of individuals observed. Of the 467 children observed, 10 were unaccompanied boys and none were unaccompanied girls. However, this information is based on direct observation and self-reporting, and therefore is likely under-reported.

This report presents the data for January 2024, collected through direct interviews and direct observation by DTM enumerators and triangulated via a network of key informants. It highlights the number of herders and their herds identified at 51 counting points. Notably, this enumeration included areas within the Kachia, Kaura, Kaita, and Faskari Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kaduna and Katsina states, under the auspices of the UN Peacebuilding Fund. Additionally, it extended to Batsari, Jibia, Kankara, and Dansuma LGAs of Katsina state, which were supported by the European Union Fund.
In January 2024, Transhumance Flow Monitoring tool identified 3,548 herders in Kaduna State and 873 herders in Katsina State. The animal count was estimated at 72,011 for Kaduna State and 21,422 for Katsina State. Notably, 92 per cent of the total number of herders departed from states within Nigeria, while the remaining 8 per cent departed from Niger.

IOM Afghanistan's DTM Flow Monitoring activity, initiated at the beginning of 2024, seeks to quantify and better understand the mobility dynamics at Afghanistan’s borders. On 10 January 2024, DTM began deploying field teams at four border crossing points with the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRN) and Pakistan (PAK), expanding to another border crossing point Ghulam Khan as of 11 February (see map below for the locations of all five crossing points), to conduct two interlinked exercises. The first is a headcount of all individuals entering or leaving Afghanistan (including returnees), also called Flow Monitoring Counting (FMC), to gauge flow volume. The second is a survey of randomly selected Afghan national individuals or groups entering or leaving Afghanistan, also called the Flow Monitoring Survey (FMS), to understand the profiles, motivations, and vulnerabilities of the target population. This snapshot provides key findings combining various IOM data sources, including DTM Afghanistan’s FMC and FMS activities, DTM Pakistan’s Flow Monitoring of Afghan returnees, and IOM Afghanistan’s Cross-Border Post-Arrival Humanitarian Assistance (CB-PAHA) program, for the period 24 to 31 March 2024. For more information about methodology, see the section in the last page of this report titled “IOM INFLOW DATA.” 

In recent weeks, armed attacks have intensified in the Metropolitan Area of Port-Au-Prince (MAPAP), the capital of Haiti. In addition to creating displacement within the MAPAP, attacks and generalized insecurity are pushing more and more people to leave the capital to find refuge in provinces, taking the risks of passing through gangs-controlled routes. In order to monitor these movements towards provinces and inform appropriate response strategies, DTM has launched data collection at several of the most used bus stations in the capital (see page 5 for more details on the methodology). Since the start of this activity, on 8 March, until 27 March, this activity allowed to observe the movements of 53,125 people leaving the MAPAP (see pages 3 and 4 for more details on the profile of these people ). The majority of them (61%) took means of transport heading towards the Grand Sud departments (Grande’Anse, South, Nippes and South-East). It should be noted that this region already hosts more than 116,000 people who had in vast majority, fled the MAPAP in recent months (see the report on displacement in the Grand Sud).

It should be emphasized that provinces do not have sufficient infrastructures and host communities do not have sufficient resources that can enable them to cope with these massive displacement flows coming from the capital.