In accordance with the report by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) titled “Lost at Home: The risks and challenges for internally displaced children and the urgent actions needed to protect them”. As per the report, at the end of 2019, an estimated 46 million people were internally displaced by conflict and violence, out of which, more than 4 in 10 or 19 million were children.
- From total, almost 33 million new displacements were recorded in 2019 consisting of around 25 million were due to natural disasters and 8.5 million as consequence of conflict and violence.
- Of the above, there were 12 million new displacements involving children, including around 3.8 million of them caused by conflict and violence, and 8.2 million due to disasters linked mostly to weather-related events.
Indian front: Faced maximum internal displacements
In India, the total number of new internal displacements(displaced within their own countries) in 2019 stood at 5,037,000 including 5,018,000 due to natural disasters and 19,000 because of conflict and violence.
- It is followed by Philippines which accounted for 4.27 million new internal displacements due to natural disasters, conflict and violence, Bangladesh 4.08 million and China 4.03 million.
Displacements due to Natural Disaster; 4 nations accounted 69%
-Natural disasters resulted in more new displacements than conflict and violence.
-Almost 10 million new displacements in 2019 were recorded in East Asia and the Pacific (39%) and 9.5 million in South Asia.
–India, the Philippines, Bangladesh and China all suffered from natural disasters leading to displacement in the millions, which accounted for 69% of global disaster-induced displacements.
Displacements due to conflict and violence; Maximum in MENA and sub-Saharan Africa
-At the end of 2019, an estimated total of 46 million people were internally displaced by conflict and violence. Almost 42% or about 19 million were children, which is more than in any other year. This displacement is making them vulnerable to the global spread of COVID-19.
-The largest number of internally displaced children due to conflict are found in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and sub-Saharan Africa (West and Central Africa).
-The MENA region recorded over 12 million internally displaced people(IDPs) as a result of conflict and violence at the end of 2019. Almost all of them lived in just three countries — Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. Around 5 million were children. Syria was the country with the largest number of conflict-related new displacements in 2019, with almost 1.9 million IDPs.
-Sub-Saharan Africa is home to another 19 million IDPs due to conflict and violence. Around 4 out of 10 internally displaced persons lives in the region, half being children.
-Syrian Arab Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen together account for one in three (36%) of all children internally displaced due to conflict and violence.
Measures to be taken to protect the internal displacement of children:
-Governments and humanitarian partners work together to keep them safe, healthy, learning and protected as internally displaced children face child labour, child marriage, trafficking among others.
-Governments convening under the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, established by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, should take actions that will provide protection and equitable access to services for all internally displaced children and their families.
Click Here for Official Report
About UNICEF:
Other names– United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
Headquarters– New York, New York, United States
Executive Director– Henrietta Holsman Fore
