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The four-year drought experienced in Kenya between 2020 and 2023 has been linked to emerging climate change-induced disasters that have continued to fuel migration after it devastated livelihoods and displaced millions of people across Eastern and Southern Africa.

As of March last year, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia were the most affected in the East and Horn of Africa sub region, the worst drought situation in more than 40 years even as theHow area continued to grapple with insecurity and conflict calamities.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in its 2024 World Migration Report that the consequences of the drought have been far-reaching where 27 million people in the region were highly food insecure.

“By May 2023, more than two million people had been internally displaced due to drought in Ethiopia and Somalia combined, while over 866,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia were living in drought-affected areas at the start of the year,” the report released yesterday said.

The report singled out the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC) signed by 10 countries from the East and Horn of Africa in September 2022 saying it is a timely response to the growing intensity of the adverse effects of climate change and its expanding geographical scale of climate-induced mobility.

The flagship publication by IOM which majorly focuses on global migration trends said that Gulf States remain key destination countries for migrant workers from the sub-region, particularly those from Eastern Africa.

Higher wages

Kenya tops the main origin countries of migrant workers from the sub-region to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, with most working in hospitality, security, construction and retail.

According to the report, with high rates of unemployment in countries of origin as well as the prospect of higher wages, many young people seek employment opportunities in the Gulf.

“The Gulf’s close proximity, coupled with the increasing difficulty of gaining entry to previously traditional destination countries (for example, the United Kingdom and the United States), have made GCC States attractive labour migration options. The proliferation of recruitment firms across Eastern Africa, as well as several bilateral labour agreements, have also contributed to the significant increase in labour migration to the Gulf,” the document said

IOM said that both regular and irregular labour migration from Eastern Africa to the Gulf are prevalent and have increased over time, making the Eastern Corridor one of the busiest maritime migration routes in the world.

The United Nations agency noted that labour migration to the Gulf has resulted in a substantial increase in remittances, especially to Kenya and Uganda.

“Remittances to Kenya and Uganda climbed to more than USD four billion and over USD 1.2 billion, respectively, in part due to increased inflows from GCC States. Saudi Arabia now ranks only behind the United Kingdom and the United States as the third largest source of remittances to Kenya,” the report stated.

Labour migrants

In what appears to be a call for robust bilateral agreements that prioritise the safety of labour migrants, IOM said that the mistreatment and exploitation of migrant workers remain widespread despite several GCC States implementing measures to reduce abuse of migrant workers including reforming the Kafala system

“Some of the most prevalent abuses include physical and sexual violence, restriction of freedom, abusive and coercive employment practices and deceptive, unfair and unsafe work environments,” IOM noted.