Eastern and Southern Africa

Mixed migration in Eastern and Southern Africa is driven by conflict and instability, economic hardships and opportunities, and, increasingly, climate hazards like drought and flooding, combined with a lack of legal pathways for movement. Since 2023, the war in Sudan has become the world’s largest displacement crisis, forcing millions to flee both within the country and across borders, and reshaping mobility patterns across the region.

The region’s main routes include the Eastern Route to the Gulf via Yemen, the Southern Route to South Africa, the Northern Route to Europe via North Africa, and the Western Indian Ocean Route, often towards Mayotte. Along all these routes, refugees and migrants are at risk of exploitation and abuse, are highly dependent upon smugglers to facilitate their movement, and are exposed to harsh conditions from long overland and sea journeys.  The experiences of East Africans on the move vary considerably by gender, sexual identity, age, and nationality.

MMC engages in data collection, research, analysis and policy development on mixed migration across all four routes intersecting the region and on dynamics within the region. This includes the Eastern Route to the Gulf via Yemen, the Southern Route to South Africa, the Northern Route to Europe via North Africa, and the Western Indian Ocean Route.

Our primary objectives are to fill the knowledge gap on mixed migration in the region; to inform programming for refugees and migrants, particularly in the areas of protection, economic recovery, and climate change resilience and anticipatory action; and to inform policymaking around the rights and protection of people on the move. 

Key research themes covered by MMC include: mobility linked to climate change; cities and urban mixed migration dynamics; smuggling, trafficking in persons, and exploitation; women and children on the move; the experiences of displaced sexual and gender minorities; and unpacking and mapping mixed migration drivers, patterns, and routes.

MMC’s 4Mi data collection project has conducted over 19,000 interviews with refugees and migrants in the region since 2017. The project operates in core countries including Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, South Africa, and Yemen, and has also collected data in Chad, the Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mayotte, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This evidence is critical to informing protection-focused programming and policy-making that safeguards the rights of people on the move across the region.

MMC’s work in Eastern and Southern Africa is made possible through the generous support and close cooperation with various partners