Where would you go if you were running out of water and drought had destroyed your crops? This is the kind of choice faced by millions of climate migrants each year. Yonas, his wife Aisha, and their son Addisu have seen their crops wither, their cattle die, and their water sources dry up. Their story is brought to life in 'Flight for Life', a new short animation produced by UN Video in collaboration with the renowned Iranian animator Majid Adin. Find out more about the climate crisis and solutions here.

Climate action is urgent. Without early and concerted climate and development action, over 216 million people could become internal climate migrants by 2050. The human mobility implications of the climate crisis are profound. We must act urgently, involving the whole society. We must strengthen people’s resilience and move from negotiation to implementation. At COP27, we must deliver for humanity, for its dignity and for future generations. At COP27, we must leave no one behind. Find out more about IOM’s work to help climate migrants.

The International Organizaiton for Migration wants you to know five things about the people displaced by the war in Ukraine.

“I noticed this woman with a 10-year-old boy. He never looked up, his eyes were down, and he never blinked. And I just kept on thinking, what has this boy seen on his journey here?”

Ugochi Daniels was just six years old when her family fled the civil war in Nigeria. Now the International Organization for Migration’s Deputy Director General for Operations, she is often struck by the pain of uprooted children, most recently those escaping from Ukraine. Women and children are particularly vulnerable when they have left their home – no matter for what reason. Across the world, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. In this episode, Ugochi Daniels reflects on efforts to meet the needs of people on the move, and on a life dedicated to the service of others.

Mobility is a defining feature of humanity. From the steppe lands of Central Asia to the ancient trading routes of the Sahel, and the Andean highlands, we are driven to expand and explore. People leave their ancestral homes to work, to learn, to seek a better future.

In most discussions on migration, the starting point is usually numbers. Understanding changes in scale, emerging trends and shifting demographics related to global social and economic transformations, such as migration, help us make sense of the changing world we live in and plan for the future. The current global estimate is that there were around 281 million international migrants in the world in 2020, which equates to 3.6 per cent of the global population. COVID-19-related immobility has become the “great disrupter” of migration.

18 December is International Migrants Day, a day to remember migrants and reiterate the need to respect the rights and dignity of all human beings. This year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has chosen to focus “Harnessing the potential of human mobility”. Migrants contribute with their knowledge, networks, and skills to build stronger, more resilient communities. The global social and economic landscape can be shaped through impactful decisions to address the challenges and opportunities presented by global mobility and people on the move.

At the end of 2020, around 7 million people in 104 countries and territories were living in displacement as a result of disasters that happened not only in 2020, but also in previous years.

Pictured are Fadmou and her child. She and family planned to travel from Somaliland to Yemen in hopes of reaching the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fadmou is one of many migrants who were unaware that she was about to cross into a war zone until she was informed by IOM staff while staying at an IOM migrant response centre in Hargesia, Somaliland. “The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing crises around the world,” says the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Director of Operations and Emergencies, Jeffrey Labovitz. In 2020, IOM reached over 37 million people in need worldwide, providing much-needed aid to migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and the local communities who support them.

People pack up and leave their homes for many reasons – economic, social, political – and these drivers are often interconnected. A more complete picture of patterns of mobility must now include those moving due to climate change – a trend expected to increase over time - as people journey from one part of their countries to another. Over 216 million people could move within their countries by 2050 across six regions, according to the World Bank’s latest Groundswell report.

Maureen Achieng, Chief of Mission of IOM to Ethiopia and Representative to the African Union and to UNECA, says a new narrative on migration in Africa is emerging. It challenges and debunks commonly held perceptions and myths about African migration and African migrants, revealing that most people are not crossing seas and oceans to migrate, but rather crossing land borders in their quest for greener pastures. In fact, 94 per cent of people who do cross seas and oceans from African countries to reach other destinations do so through regular channels. According to the first-ever “Africa Migration Report,” these people are mostly business travelers and students, taking planes and passing through airports and official land borders.