Understanding the key drivers of displacement in Somalia, during the 2021/22 drought

In 2022, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) commissioned a research study through GIST to explore the key drivers of displacement in Somalia during the 2021/22 drought. This research piece aimed at understanding the push, pull, and identity factors that have influenced displacement patterns in Bay region in the current drought. While the research targeted Bay region, the results provide broad and comprehensive insights into displacement dynamics in Somalia at large. 

A key finding from the research indicated that the availability of humanitarian assistance and geographical presence of aid actors in Somalia guides internal displacement: “humanitarian actors work in reaction to past and present displacement patterns, whereas displaced persons state upon arrival that they came because of the humanitarian assistance available on site. It is a hen and egg problem: which comes first and guides the other?"