By Asmau Ahmad
Conflicts, hunger and climate change led to a record number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 2022, according to a report released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The number of people displaced in their homelands jumped to 71.1 million in 2022, which is a 20 per cent increase since 2021.
Many were displaced more than once.
In Ukraine alone, close to 5.9 million people were displaced internally because of the Russian offensive in 2022.
Several million people also fled abroad from Ukraine.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around five million people received protection in Europe.
However, the IDMC report deals exclusively with displaced people who remained in the country where they previously lived.
Around 28.3 million people were displaced by conflict and violence in their own countries in 2022, almost twice the number in the previous year.
Some 32.6 million people had to leave their homes due to natural and climate disasters, 40 per cent more than in 2022.
This was triggered by natural disasters such as droughts and floods.
The reports listed 10 countries that dealt with severe internal displacement problems to include Syria, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Colombia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
