September 15, 2026 (Djibouti-Ville. Djibouti): When climate shocks occur, people move. Policies and institutions must be ready.
In Djibouti, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is supporting efforts to address emerging challenges of climate-induced mobility affecting communities across the Horn of Africa. Through its Human Mobility in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change (MoDiaC) project, IGAD brought together government agencies, technical experts, and partners for the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration (NCM) meeting. This event took place on 14–15 September 2026 in Djibouti City.
The meeting aims to strengthen the NCM’s capacity to coordinate policies, planning, and institutional responses to human mobility challenges arising from disasters and climate change, while promoting greater alignment between Djibouti’s national priorities and IGAD’s regional frameworks.
In a context marked by rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, variable rainfall, water scarcity, land degradation, and flash flooding, climate change is placing increasing pressure on livelihoods and may influence internal and cross-border movements.
The NCM meeting provides a forum for stakeholders to review progress, identify capacity-building needs, and define priority actions to better integrate climate- and disaster-related human mobility into migration policies, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and development planning—rather than treating each as a separate concern.
“Climate change is no longer simply an environmental issue. It is increasingly a human mobility issue, a development issue, and a governance issue.”
Dr. Victoria Anib — Head of the Social Development Unit at IGAD and MoDiaC Project Coordinator
Dr. Anib made the case for stronger institutional capacity to anticipate, manage, and respond to population movements linked to environmental pressures — while protecting human dignity, building resilience, and keeping sustainable development at the center of the response.
Dr. Victoria Anib also stressed the need to strengthen the capacities of governments and institutions to anticipate, manage and respond effectively to population movements linked to environmental pressures, while protecting human dignity, strengthening resilience and promoting sustainable development.
The opening session featured remarks from Mr. Mohamed Ismaël Nour, Director General of Djibouti’s National Meteorological Agency (ANM); Ms. Katharina Huebner, a GIZ representative; and Ms. Hasna Omar Farah from the National Migration Coordination Office.
“This meeting provides an opportunity to strengthen our understanding of the link between migration, displacement, climate change and disasters, while also identifying the institutional responses needed to better anticipate and manage these challenges.”
Hasna Omar Farah — National Migration Coordination Office, Djibouti
In her opening remarks, Ms. Farah welcomed national institutions, IGAD, and partner organizations, and underscored the NCM’s role as an essential platform for dialogue, consultation, and coordination on migration governance — noting that Djibouti, like its neighbours, is increasingly affected by drought, water scarcity, land degradation, heavy rainfall, and flooding, which directly impact livelihoods and mobility.
She noted that Djibouti, like other countries in the region, is increasingly exposed to the impacts of climate change, including droughts, water scarcity, land degradation, heavy rainfall and flooding. These phenomena have direct impacts on livelihoods and can influence population movements and mobility dynamics.
Ms. Hasna Omar Farah also highlighted the role of the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration, which provides an essential platform for dialogue, consultation and coordination among institutions involved in migration governance.
“This meeting provides an opportunity to strengthen our understanding of the link between migration, displacement, climate change and disasters, while also identifying the institutional responses needed to better anticipate and manage these challenges.”
For her part, Ms. Katharina Huebner, GIZ representative, said she was honoured to participate in the opening of the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration (NCM) meeting in Djibouti.
She highlighted that one of the main objectives of the meeting is to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of all stakeholders on the links between climate change and human mobility, with a view to promoting a better understanding of these issues and more coordinated responses.
Acting before disaster strikes
With El Niño-linked risks on the horizon, discussions turned to a harder question: not just how to predict weather-related hazards, but how to act on those predictions before they become emergencies. Strengthening early warning systems, anticipation and preparedness ran through the two days of talks.
“Our country faces multiple hazards: flash floods, heatwaves, strong winds and droughts. In the face of these challenges, it is no longer enough to predict. We need to act ahead of time.”
Mohamed Ismaël Nour — Director General, National Meteorological Agency of Djibouti (ANM)
Mr. Nour pointed to the WISER Action First™ programme, which ANM is implementing with SEGRC and partner support, as a concrete step toward turning forecasts into early action — reducing the toll of climate-related events on communities and strengthening institutions’ capacity to anticipate displacement and other forms of climate-linked mobility.
Over the two days, participants worked to strengthen coordination among institutions responsible for migration, climate, meteorology, disaster risk management, and humanitarian affairs, and began identifying priority geographic and thematic areas for climate-induced mobility — with particular attention to cross-border regions, where the impacts of drought or flood rarely stop at a national boundary. Participants agreed on concrete recommendations and follow-up actions to strengthen national coordination, build institutional capacity, and carry forward MoDiaC’s implementation in Djibouti — turning shared understanding into the kind of standing readiness that saves lives and livelihoods when the next shock arrives.
MoDiaC — Mobility in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change — is a regional initiative led by the IGAD Migration Unit, the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) and GIZ, with funding from the German Government.
The IGAD region faces frequent climate-related disasters that generate complex human mobility patterns, ranging from forced displacement to adaptive migration. By strengthening climate services, disaster risk management and policy coordination, MoDiaC works to reduce displacement risks, strengthen institutional preparedness and protect vulnerable communities.
