In a new report, Turning the tide on internal displacement: A development approach to solutions, UNDP offers a blueprint to help millions of people who have been forced from home by conflict or disaster. The report looks at the impact of internal displacement and shows that earlier and increased support to development is an essential condition for emerging from crisis in a sustainable way.
Shahzadi lost everything when floods from record monsoon rains submerged a third of Pakistan earlier this year. "We received food and shelter in camp, but there is an urgent need for warm clothes and blankets for the children,” she said.
The floods affected 33 million people, and more than 1,730 lost their lives. The poorest and most vulnerable districts were hit the hardest. Against this backdrop, humanitarian assistance was the top priority.
Munir Ahmad Memon also lost his home and his job as a rickshaw driver. “My wife requires immediate medical assistance, and I can’t afford to pay for the medical expenses. I’m willing to return to my hometown, but I don’t have sufficient funds to rebuild my house,” he said.
Providing people like Shahzadi and Munir Ahmad Memon with humanitarian relief helped save lives, but inclusive and climate resistant recovery and reconstruction must start in parallel. For them to not just survive, but to thrive as well, they need to be able to find jobs and have access to services within their new communities or they will become dependent on aid.
An assessment by the Pakistani authorities facilitated by UNDP showed that between 8.4 and 9.1 million more people may be pushed below the poverty line due to the floods. Many countries like Pakistan are falling into greater levels of poverty and inequality due to climate change, disasters, conflict, economic crisis and internal displacement.
And we know the next crisis is just over the horizon. Conflicts are now at their highest levels since the end of World War II. By 2050, the World Bank predicts that climate change could force more than 216 million people to move within their own countries.
How do we better prepare for next month’s – or next year’s – disasters? How do we help those already displaced restart their lives? How do we create the kind of long-term development that makes communities more resilient even in the most fragile of places?
The Turning the tide on internal displacement report draws on new data to answer some of those questions, showing the importance of governments ensuring equal access to rights and basic services, promoting socio-economic integration, restoring security and building social cohesion.
In other words, providing a path out of internal displacement.
The war in Ukraine has inflicted immense human suffering and devastated communities. Nearly one-third of the population – more than 14 million people – have now fled their homes seeking safe haven inside the country or abroad.
Over 6.5 million displaced people remain within Ukraine as the war continues to rage. Ensuring they can get basic services during the crisis is essential. A UNDP-supported, government led online service, known as Diia, gets them to access critical public services.
The platform addresses the basic needs of families, so they are better able to live in dignity. As well helping families buy basic food or get financial help to find a safe place to stay, others can use the cash transferred for mobile phone cards to apply for jobs in their new host communities.
Digital solutions are also developed for social care services and support structures for physical and mental health needs, and mobile administrative services ensure that displaced and non-displaced people have access to vital services in rural or poorly connected areas.
With the onset of winter, providing energy and heating to the wider population will be critical to avoid a fresh wave of displacement and increased humanitarian needs. UNDP is actively supporting energy security, with work ongoing to restore energy supply to critical public facilities such as hospitals, fire and police stations. The support includes energy efficiency initiatives, contributing not only to immediate response and winterization needs, but also setting the trajectory for green recovery.
In 2015, Boko Haram fighters swept through the small town of Ngarannam, Borno State, in the northeast of Nigeria. The insurgency began in 2009 and has since displaced more than 2 million people. When news broke that the insurgents had reached the town, Abba Kawu Modu had no time to pack. “My house, farm, car and belongings were all either taken or destroyed,” he said.
Ngarannam was completely abandoned. Abba Kawu Modu now lives in a displacement camp with other people from his town. They rely on humanitarian aid and support from the local community for food and other daily needs. “In the camp, there is no money, there is no happiness, there is only hunger. My one hope is to get back home where I can restart my life,” he said.
His dream may come true. The Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with UNDP and with support from the European Union, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, is rebuilding eight communities across the northeast of Nigeria. The first of Ngarannam’s residents have already moved back, the town has been reconstructed with over 360 houses, a primary school, a police station, a market, and water facilities, all powered by solar energy.
Saleh Abbah has a new home after his family had been displaced three times. “Our lives have returned to normal. No one will wake you up from sleep and ask you to go to another place. No one will give you any restrictions like in the camps. Now it is our house and we’re in charge," he said.
The village was designed under the guidance of the displaced Ngarannam community who worked closely with the Lagos-based female architect, Tosin Oshinowo. The initiative also includes grants to set up small businesses and skills training as part of the long-term development livelihood scheme.
An independent survey found that nine out of ten of people who have returned were happy with the government’s efforts. “Camps are important in terms of saving lives and providing security, but these camps usually take away the dignity of the people. So coming back to Ngarannam for the community members is basically coming back to dignity,” Mohamed Yahya the Resident Representative of UNDP Nigeria said.
The Burtinle Camp in Puntland looks the same as hundreds of other displacement settlements across Somalia. Tiny breeze-block houses are home to 3000 people, with whole families to a single room. Jobs and services are scarce. It can be hard to find a school for your children.
Somalia faces recurring droughts, floods, locust invasions and violent extremism. More than 3 million people have been displaced. Leaving them in camps with no jobs, healthcare and education is a waste of potential the country can ill afford and fertile ground for extremists to recruit in.
Saida Abdullahi Hussein has a different vision for the residents of the Burtinle camp. She has been a district councillor since 2019 and is one of seven women on the council who have benefitted from UNDP trainings that cover how to advocate for better treatment and fairer use of resources. She has used these skills to lobby for better services at the camp.
"The local council has organised volunteer teams to provide nutritional support and medical supplies," said Saida. "Another major challenge is that all the schools are far away, so the children have no education and we're looking at solutions to that. There's also no proper water supply and no wells, so the women on the council are lobbying for support."
The support to Burtinle district council is part of the mission of Somalia's UN Joint Programme on Local Governance. In Burtinle, it has led to a new road that connects businesses with more customers. Teachers are getting paid on time and teach in better equipped schools. There are more jobs for youth. All this happened over years, but the progress is tangible.
Many affected countries will not be able to reach critical global goals on poverty, education, peaceful societies and gender equality – without fully addressing internal displacement.
The Turning the tide report focuses on people, their opportunities and choices and what the end of displacement looks like in human development terms. Finding those solutions depends on governments in affected countries ensuring the rights and needs of all their citizens and residents are met - including those who are internally displaced.
By investing in development, governments will help people overcome the consequences of their displacement and foster their contribution to economies and societies.
More efforts are needed to end the marginalization of internally displaced people, who must be able to exercise their full rights as citizens including through access to vital services such as health care, education, social protection and job opportunities.” – Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator
UNDP’s new report, Turning the tide on internal displacement: A development approach to solutions, offers a blueprint to help millions of people who have been forced from home by conflict or disaster.
The report looks at the impact of internal displacement and draws on new data to show how investing in development is essential to help people emerge from crisis and build thriving communities.
© 2026 United Nations Development Programme
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