Somalia - JIPS - Joint IDP Profiling Service

Somalia

Somalia experiences one of the world’s most complex protracted displacement situations, fuelled by armed conflict and the impact of climate change-induced droughts and floods. The country now has an estimated three million internally displaced persons (IDPs), with a significant trend in IDPs fleeing rural areas towards IDP settlements in urban areas. Humanitarian response in Somalia drives the production of data on internal displacement, coordinated through the humanitarian cluster system. Efforts primarily concentrate on estimating IDPs in the country to guide aid provision. To tackle displacement challenges, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) has issued a National Durable Solutions Strategy (NDSS) for 2020 to 2024, including a monitoring and evaluation framework for its five strategic objectives.

JIPS’ involvement in Somalia began in 2013 when various UN, NGO and government partners asked us to support urban profiling exercises in Mogadishu and Hargeisa. Since then, JIPS has continued to engage with in-country partners and provide support, such as to map the in-country data ecosystem and opportunities and gaps for the operationalisation of the NDSS. Since 2021, JIPS has been leading on behalf of the Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS) the technical support to the Federal Government of Somalia to mainstream IDPs in national statistics in line with the International Recommendations on IDP Statistics, and improving coordination with humanitarian and development stakeholders on data for solutions.

Project overview

Profiling for durable solutions in Mogadishu (2013 – 2016)

In Mogadishu, the profiling process focused on the hundreds of informal settlements in which IDPs are known to live. The purpose was to update the overall figure of persons living in these settlements, analyse their displacement history and based on IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for IDPs examine the families’ skills, capacities, specific needs and coping mechanisms that affect their decision-making for the future, with the aim of establishing a mutually agreed evidence base to inform a comprehensive strategy and related programming.

The profiling exercise had significant impact: the results later contributed to the inclusion of IDPs in Somalia’s National Development Plan. They furthermore provided the much-needed baseline for the more recent 5-year Durable Solutions Strategy of the Banaadir Regional Administration (BRA).

Key outputs:

Exercise partners

  • Somalia Protection Cluster
  • Central and Banaadir regional authorities
  • Broad range of UN agencies and local and international NGOs
  • Solutions Alliance Somalia Group (involved in March 2015)

Our support spanned all phases of the profiling process, from facilitating the definition of the exercise scope and objectives to supporting the design of the methodology and tools for data collection, to analysis, validation, and final reporting and dissemination. Our support also involved the mapping of the in-country information landscape on internal displacement, to ensure relevant secondary data and key data gaps were considered. Finally, it included the enhancement of local capacities for profiling to ensure that local partners were able to carry out similar exercises in other parts of the country.

Highlights

The profiling exercises took place in two significantly distinct urban contexts – Mogadishu and Hargeisa –, but in both a collaborative durable solutions analysis had an important impact. The profiling exercise in Mogadishu led to the Government incorporating durable solutions to internal displacement into the national development plan. In addition, actors working in Mogadishu agreed that a specific strategy should be developed for addressing protracted displacement in the city. The profiling also ensured that these undertakings were informed by a solid agreed-upon evidence base rather than assumptions and outdated and fragmented information.

According to Mohamed Moalim, then Head of the National Statistics Directorate at the Ministry of Planning: “The Mogadishu profiling results and recommendations have been used by the ministry in the formation of policy and analysis, and were a great springboard to discuss including a durable solutions chapter in the national development plan.

The sense of local ownership of the exercise played a significant role in these achievements, and in the setting up of the Somalia IDP Durable Solutions Initiative, a UN-led project to leverage political willingness and humanitarian and development support to develop a comprehensive durable solutions strategy. The profiling process also prompted dialogue with development stakeholders, who came to recognise displacement as an impoverishment factor and understand the importance of municipalities’ role in implementing durable solutions. It also opened the door for fundraising across the humanitarian and development sectors, and the creation of a taskforce led by the Mayor of Mogadishu to develop the city’s Urban Durable Solutions Strategy.

According to Khadra Elmi, profiling advisor: “The collaborative commitment and tailored methodology resulted in data that was accepted and used by the Somali government and humanitarian community. An analysis that started to bridge humanitarian and development concerns and foster the policy dialogue to unlock obstacles to durable solutions.”

According to Nina Schrepfer, Somalia Protection Cluster Coordinator: “The profiling data bears a considerable degree of legitimacy due to the collaborative nature of the process from planning to data collection and validation of the analysis that brought together the municipality, federal government institutions, NGOs and UN partners.”

The Mogadishu exercise also confirmed the importance of designing a flexible methodology able to adapt to emerging challenges, and of adopting an area-based approach that establishes a better understanding of the specific characteristics of different population groups together with the broader urban system.

Project overview

Profiling for durable solutions in Hargeisa (2013-2016)

In Hargeisa, the profiling aimed to inform a new way of responding to the displacement situation in the city with a pressing need to support durable solutions in collaboration with the authorities, NGOs and UN partners. The exercise focused on the capital of the Somaliland region, where according to estimates thousands of IDPs had arrived over the past years, sharing the informal settlements with labour migrants, refugee returnees, asylum seekers and local urban poor.

In addition, the project had a specific focus on IDPs from South Central Somalia, a “hidden population’ who often lived outside of the known settlement areas and were therefore suspected to be particularly vulnerable due to limited access to assistance and protection.

Key outputs:

Exercise partners

  • Somaliland Government through the Ministry of Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
  • Hargeisa Protection Cluster
  • Three ministries and a broad range of humanitarian and development stakeholders in the form of UN agencies and local and international NGOs

JIPS supported the exercise throughout, including to establish a profiling taskforce, map areas with IDP settlements, design the methodology, conduct a quality assurance check on the data collected remotely, deliver on-site training on data cleaning and analysis, as well as support more complex analysis and formulation of key findings in the profiling report.

Highlights

Implemented at the same time as the Mogadishu exercise, the profiling in Hargeisa changed the overall understanding of displacement in the city substantially by providing evidence about the situations of different population groups in one comparative analysis. It revealed that the different population groups share many of the same challenges, which should primarily be addressed through inclusive long-term development planning and interventions rather than humanitarian assistance.

Nina Schrepfer, Somalia Protection Cluster Coordinator said: “The profiling in Hargeisa allowed to demystify who is an IDP and who is an urban poor. It demonstrated that their needs were very even and hence more of an urban development challenge than a humanitarian one.”

Khadra Elmi, profiling advisor, stressed the importance of the collaborative nature of profiling: “This exercise makes me realise the importance of genuine and invested high-level buy-in from all stakeholders, in particular local authorities, in order for the data to have impact.”

The exercise also showed the extent to which community information campaigns and participation can help to overcome the challenges associated with reaching additional vulnerable populations such as refugees and asylum seekers.

Project overview

Developing the National Statistics Sectoral Strategic Plan for improved IDP statistics (2021-2023)

The Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) has set up a plan for the inclusion of IDPs in national statistics in line with the International Recommendations on IDP Statistics (IRIS). Following a request for technical support from the Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS) in May 2021, JIPS on behalf of EGRISS has been supporting the SNBS to develop a standalone IDP Statistics Sectoral Plan to be included in the update of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics. Finalised in February 2023, the plan’s objective is to strengthen the capacity of the Bureau, enhance coordination, and establish a system for the inclusion of IDPs in official data sources.

In the process of preparing the plan, from January to July 2022, JIPS conducted an information mapping of potential IDP data sources from state agencies, international actors, and multi-stakeholder groups to feed into the production of national statistics.

The preliminary results and insights from this research were further discussed at a technical in-person meeting that was organized by JIPS on 1-2 August 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting, which brought together representatives from regional and country teams of international actors working in Somalia, the SNBS and the EGRISS Secretariat, generated a shared understanding of the IRIS and of the existing data ecosystem on Internal Displacement in Somalia. It also fostered a discussion on how the international community can best support government-owned statistics on the phenomenon.

By invitation from MoPIEd, JIPS and the SNBS also presented the work on the IDP Strategic Statistics Sectoral Plan at the High-Level National Durable Solutions Conference, held in Mogadishu on 27-28 February 2023. Subsequent bilateral meetings with SNBS, NCRI, UNHCR, UNDP, the Integrated Office of the DSRSG/RC/HC (RCO), and the then-initiated Steering Group on Solutions to Internal Displacement, served to discuss how ongoing efforts for official statistics on IDPs and Durable Solutions can be linked, with support from JIPS.

Key outputs this far:

  • Summary article and report from the technical meeting held in Nairobi on 1-2 August 2022
  • Poster providing a snapshot of the SNBS work on the IDP Statistics Sector Strategic Plan, supported by JIPS
  • Key takeaways from JIPS’ mission in February 2023 on Data for Solutions in Somalia (see below)

Partners

  • Government: Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS), as well as more broadly on Solutions the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development (MoPIED) and the National Commission for Refugees and IDPs (NCRI)
  • International community: UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office (RCO), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR); IDP Data Working Group,  EGRISS, IGAD, Regional Bureaus of UNHCR and IOM in East Africa.

Highlights

The technical meeting that took place in August 2022 marks a first milestone achievement in the ongoing process of EGRISS’ support, led by JIPS, to the Government of Somalia for the improvement of IDP statistics. The High-Level National Durable Solutions Conference in February 2023 represents another critical step forward, not only with the presentation of the finalised and agreed-upon IDP Strategic Statistics Sectoral Plan, but also by ‘connecting the dots’ between IDP official statistics and Data for Solutions, in line with the related national strategy, Solutions coordination structure, and implementation of the Action Agenda.

Key recommendations from JIPS’ workshop in Nairobi, August 2022

1. Establish a dedicated forum to discuss official statistics in Somalia
that brings together the SNBS, the National Commission for Refugees and IDPs (NCRI), and other relevant line Ministries to enable a whole-of-government approach and enhance coordination across the National Statistical System.
2. Enhance the technical capacity of the statistical authority in Somalia
for nationally owned official statistics on IDPs, facilitated through coordinated capacity development efforts from the international community working on IDP data in Somalia, both in terms of funding and training.
3. Enable a technical communication channel
between SNBS and non-governmental stakeholders, so they can regularly discuss plans for upcoming data collection exercises, identify potential synergies, and share best practices.
4. EGRISS members in Somalia to act as catalysts
for the implementation of IRIS, and to collaborate with the SNBS and other key stakeholders of the NSS to enhance their capacities to lead the process.
5. The Government of Somalia to draft a Sector Strategic Plan for IDP official statistics.
The plan should be aligned to the different national frameworks and address both the production of statistics and the response to internal displacement.
6. The Government of Somalia to endorse a standard definition of IDPs
as well as the classificatory variables and indicators to measure stocks and progress towards solutions. This requires a definition and a set of statistics that are legally binding and that can serve both operational and statistical purposes. Good practices around geographical coverage, representativity, and methods should be promoted when feasible.
7. All stakeholders involved in IDP data in Somalia to cooperate in efforts to build capacity in statistical rigor.
This will result in statistically sound data which can inform targeted humanitarian response and support the government to measure progress towards durable solutions. Furthermore, quality data can benefit the production of operational data and likely assess its use as a source for official statistics.

Key takeaways from JIPS’ mission, February 2023

Definition of an IDP:
Different actors collecting data on internal displacement in Somalia have diverse interpretations and apply different criteria to define who is an Internally Displaced Person (entering the stock) and who has achieved a Durable Solution (exiting the stock). Examples include the IDP sites estimations by the CCCM Cluster, the upcoming IDP census by the SNBS, the ongoing Durable Solutions programs Saameynta and Danwadaag, and the IDP registration led by the NCRI. The IRIS offers a common statistical definition of an IDP and thus serve as a starting point to harmonise approaches.
Coordination and complementarity of data sources:
Coordination between humanitarian and development actors as well as harmonizing the methodologies used by operational actors will benefit the production of data to measure IDPs’ protection needs and the achievement of durable solutions. Opportunities and avenues to advance an IDP statistical framework include the IDP registration led by the NCRI, the planned IDP census by the SNBS, and the operationalisation of the NDSS led by the DSU-MoPIED. The recent IDP Strategic Statistics Sectoral Plan developed by the SNBS can guide these efforts.
Durable Solutions Analysis:
Data at the individual level is needed to understand the magnitude (stock) and the dynamics of internal displacement (flows). However, to inform effective Durable Solutions strategies and programming, more in-depth data is required such as on IDPs’ perspectives, the impact of displacement on the wider context, and more. This calls for an area-based approach with HDP-oriented analysis, anchored in a human rights-based approach and that considers IDPs and host communities – rather than the ‘graduation’ from durable solutions programs or the mere physical relocation outside IDP sites. Given ongoing efforts on both IDP official statistics and Durable Solutions, there is a great opportunity to ‘connect the dots’ and enhance the complementarity of operational data and official statistics.
Governance: Vertical coordination between the national (Federal Government of Somalia) and subnational levels (Federal Member States) is key
to achieve consensus on Data for Solutions and to scale up efforts to better address internal displacement in the country in the short and longer term. A clear division of labour between different levels of Government regarding IDP data management will avoid duplication and increase accountability. A dedicated forum to discuss and align efforts on data on internal displacement, such as the Migration and Displacement Working Group recently convened by the SNBS, can provide a conducive environment.
Capacity building:
Strengthening capacities is critical to enhance ownership and government leadership in the coordination of data on internal displacement.” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron”] UN agencies and international actors can play a critical role to support efforts to include IDPs in upcoming data collection exercises, such as the national population census and planned national surveys, and to enhance coordination including for the implementation of the Action Agenda.

Project overview

Enhancing coordination on measuring progress towards durable solutions (2023-ongoing)

As a priority country for implementing the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, the Federal Government of Somalia, in collaboration with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office (RCO), committed in 2023 to guiding one million IDPs towards durable solutions. Following JIPS’ participation in a High-Level National Durable Solutions Conference in February 2023, a collective effort was proposed to discuss a standardised approach for measuring durable solutions at scale.

Following the completion of JIPS’ support to the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) in developing a standalone IDP Strategic Statistics Sectoral Plan (2021-2023), the SNBS sent a new request to JIPS for technical and capacity building support in April 2023. The request focuses on building consensus with government and international actors around the concepts and definition of an IDP for producing official statistics in Somalia, enhancing collaborative platforms to measure solutions to displacement, and including IDPs in large-scale annual surveys to better measure progress towards durable solution.

On 25-26 October 2023, JIPS co-organized a workshop in Mogadishu, bringing together 40 data experts from government institutions, UN agencies, and international non-governmental organisations in Somalia to discuss a common approach to measuring progress towards durable solutions to internal displacement. 

Prior to the workshop, JIPS collaborated with RCO, IOM, MoPIED, UNHCR and ReDSS to map approaches for identifying IDPs and capturing durable solutions indicators in data collection exercises in Somalia, aligning with the Data for Solutions component of the Action Agenda and promoting the implementation of the IRIS.

Key outputs this far:

  • Summary article and report from the joint workshop held in Mogadishu on 25-26 October 2023 (coming soon)

Partners

  • Government: Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development (MoPIED), Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS), National Commission for Refugees and IDPs (NCRI), Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA), Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), Banadir Regional Administration and other Federal Members States (FMA).
  • International Community: the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office (RCO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

Highlights

The workshop presented a crucial opportunity for a technical discussion to produce recommendations for a standardised, collective approach for Data for Solutions in Somalia, based on existing frameworks and good practices. Discussions included connecting the IRIS with the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework of the NDSS, addressing diverse data needs, and establishing a common understanding of the division of labour between various data systems producing information on IDPs and their distinct objectives. Recommendations from the workshop emphasised the need for government leadership and accountability in implementing standards for IDP data collection in Somalia.

Reflections from the joint workshop in Mogadishu, November 2023

Fundamental to moving forward is standardisation of key concepts and methodological approaches, which will allow for triangulation across the diverse data systems. Priority elements include:

  • Include a common IDP identification module in surveys that allows to disaggregate IDPs into three categories (displacement, return, other locations) and statistically separate IDPs from non-IDPs.
  • Define common criteria to measure progress along ‘solutions pathways’ to inform humanitarian and development responses as part of the Action Agenda and the implementation of the NDSS.
  • Define common indicators and metrics to measure progress towards solutions to assess how far displacement-affected communities (DACs) have progressed in overcoming displacement-related vulnerabilities
  • Define comparison population and benchmarks to standardise the measurement of progress towards solutions.

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