The Internal displacement of people has cost at least 20 billion dollars for each of the countries with an average cost of 390 dollars per person, according to new estimates.
The cost increased in the last two years from 310 dollars per person and 13 billion dollars for the countries, said the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). The IDMC made the calculation using an original methodology that measures the loss of income when people are forced to flee their homes and the cost of meeting their basic needs in security, health, education and housing.
IDMC director Alexandra Bilak said that more people are displaced than ever. The displacement placed a huge financial burden on fragile national economies that already reeling under Covid 19. Bilak noted that reducing and preventing internal displacement was not only beneficial for security and wellbeing but also helps the economy at large.
The estimate was done after analysing 22 countries that are affected by internal displacement because of disasters, violence and conflicts. The IDMC said that Syria had the highest annual economic impact at 5.6 billion dollars or 14 per cent of the country’s GDP. In Somalia, insecurity displaced 2.6 million people and the cost of displacement was just over one billion dollar, which was over 20 per cent of its GDP.
The estimate was done after analysing 22 countries that are affected by internal displacement because of disasters, violence and conflicts. The IDMC said that Syria had the highest annual economic impact at 5.6 billion dollars or 14 per cent of the country’s GDP. In Somalia, insecurity displaced 2.6 million people and the cost of displacement was just over one billion dollar, which was over 20 per cent of its GDP. The report noted that the economic impact of internal displacement in Yemen, Iraq and the DRC were also among the highest.
Bilak said that they looked into countries that were repeatedly affected by displacement crises and continued to be at risk. The IDMC noted that the analysis highlighted the urgent need to refocus from short-term humanitarian reaction to longer-term prevention and national development planning.
The IDMC, established in 1998, looks at data and analysis on internal displacement.
