A report by the Asia-Pacific Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group suggests that over 59.1 million people, worldwide, have been forced to leave their homes as a result of armed conflicts, violence, human rights abuses, and natural disasters.
Evidence indicates that more than half of those who are internally displaced are women and girls and that this number has reached an all-time high, according to the report co-chaired by CARE International, UN Women, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In spite of their diversity, women, and girls who have been displaced usually struggle to find stable employment, protection, access to healthcare, and education, the report said.
Women and girls, who have been forcibly displaced, along with other vulnerable populations, need specialized and focused assistance, the report highlighted. Because they are considered internally displaced, their needs are rarely given priority.
53.3 percent of all internally displaced persons worldwide in 2021 lived in Asia and the Pacific, and the majority of them had been uprooted by disasters brought on by harsh weather and climatic conditions.
More than 90% of all evacuations in the Asia-Pacific area are brought on by weather-related catastrophes like cyclones and floods, but the report specifically cited Afghanistan as a country where hostilities and civil unrest have increased internal displacement.
“In a country where women and girls are deprived of education, economic liberty, and freedom of movement since the Taliban came to power in August 2021, IOM has continued to support women-led small- and medium-sized enterprises despite the economic crisis, and it has extended support to Afghans that have recently returned from neighbouring countries,” the report said.
SOURCE: Khaama
