NCDs & Displaced Populations

Caring for people with chronic conditions is a complex issue. Displaced populations are often traumatised by the conflict or disaster that displaced them, and with humanitarian aid focussing on treating infectious diseases and injuries, non-communicable diseases are often forgotten

Infographic shows persons of concern in each country in the EMRO according to UNHCR, as of July 2014, number of persons of concern from each country and some predicted numbers for Jan 2015 and Dec 2015

displaced_map_2015

Numbers from UNHCR.org. Infographic (c) Sarah Kerry 2015. See infographic for 2014
 

In the period 2003-2013, the Middle East & North African region experienced the highest rise in the number of internally displaced persons in the world, rising by 355%. Syria has the highest number of internally displaced people in 2013, with 3.5 million people displaced*.

The situation worsened in 2014. As of August 2014, an estimated 10.8 million Syrians were thought to be internally displaced or in need of humanitarian assistance. An additional 3 million Syrian refugees have been externally displaced in the region (as of Sept 18th 2014).

In the occupied Palestinian territory, many Palestinians have been externally and internally displaced since the middle of the 20th century. As of 29 August 2014, 56,599 internally displaced people were living in shelters and schools in the Gaza Strip, and over 50,000 IDPs were living in host communities.**

As you can see from the infographic above, internal and external displacement affects the whole region.

Here, we draw focus on the multifaceted issues facing displaced populations, both internally displaced and those forced to migrate to other countries and those trying to provide medical assistance to them.

 

 

*"Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence

** "Occupied Palestine, A Policy of Displacement and Dispossession amid renewed conflict" IDMC