Migration Response Centres (MRCs) East and Horn of Africa (1 January – 30 June 2021)

REGIONAL OVERVIEW: JUNE 2021

A total of 885 migrants were registered at MRCs across the region in June, a 24% increase compared to May. This brings the total registrations in 2021 to 4,345 migrants. The largest number of migrants were registered in Obock (253), followed by Semera (213), Bossaso (152), Hargeisa (113), Moyale (59), Togochale (45), Metema (36), and Dire Dawa (14). The Dire Dawa MRC in Ethiopia resumed operations in May 2021 after more than a year of disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More male adults (59%) were registered in June than female adults (14%), while 27% of registrations were children. Child registrations increased by 55% between May (154) and June (239). Most registered children (58%) were between 15 and 17 years old. Around 34% of all child migrants visited the MRC in Obock, followed by Hargeisa (31%) and Bossaso (12%). While all the children registered at the MRCs in Hargeisa and Metema were accompanied, all the children registered in Bossaso, Dire Dawa, Togochale and Semera as well as most children registered at the MRC in Obock (95%) were unaccompanied.

All registered migrants were Ethiopian nationals, and the majority reported departing from the Oromia (38%),
Amhara (20%) and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (14%) regions of Ethiopia. Some migrants were also returning from Yemen, in particular from Aden (10%) and Marib (1%). About 60% of migrants reported that they intended to continue their journey to Saudi Arabia. All migrants registered in Bossaso and Semera were heading to Saudia Arabia. Meanwhile, 86% of all migrants registered at the MRC in Moyale were heading to South Africa

Source: International Organization for Migration