Stronger Cities, Stronger Futures: Leveraging investments for inclusive urban growth and displacement responses

On 11 December 2025 from 08:30–11:00 CET, ECDPM, in partnership with MPI Europe and the Cities Alliance and funded by DG INTPA, will host an event on how rapid urbanisation, rising urban pressures, and unprecedented displacement are reshaping mobility and development across the Greater Horn of Africa. 

Background

Extreme weather, dwindling natural resources and violent conflict remain the primary drivers of forced displacement globally today. In Sub-Saharan Africa, these dynamics are coming together at an unprecedented pace. For instance, according to the 2025 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID), the number of internally displaced people in the continent reached a record 38.8 million as of the end of the year, around 46 per cent of the global total. All 23 countries that recorded conflict displacements also registered movements triggered by disasters. Mobility represents a key livelihood diversification and coping strategy for individuals and communities, amidst increasing pressures on fragile food systems, overstretched basic services and limited public infrastructure. While migration to Europe and the Gulf through unsafe routes makes the headlines, mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa is predominantly intra-regional, pendular and network-based as most families maintain ties both in their countries of origin as well as asylum. 

This event aims to inform these debates through a focus on the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) following the launch of the Sustainable Urban Integration of Displacement-Affected Communities (SUIDAC) programme. The latest United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data bulletin concerning the region (October 2025) provides a bleak picture: the conflict in Sudan, instability and climate change in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia are pushing 5.5 million refugees to seek protection and safety in a neighbouring countries, while 17.5 million people are displaced internally. At the same time, more and more people are moving to cities at times of rapid urban population growth  - often without prospects that those will be well equipped and ready to host them.

Speakers

Hon. Dr. Sanya Wilson – Mayor of Koboko, Uganda 
Greg Munro – Director, Cities Alliance 
Charles Obila – IGAD Platform Coordinator 
Thomas Kirchner – Team Leader, Migration and Forced Displacement, DG INTPA A2 
Renate Bucher - Program Manager, The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) 
Anna Knoll - Head of Migration and Mobility, ECDPM
Lars Gronvald – Head of Unit, DG INTPA F4
Representative of the World Bank Africa Team or EDFI (TBC)  
Camille Le Coz – Director, Migration Policy Institute Europe 
Amandine Sabourin – Policy Analyst, ECDPM 

Register here: https://bit.ly/3MgnzFA