This paper is part of a three-year research project on livelihoods in urban displacement, which asks what aid actors can learn from IDPs’ own strategies to support more effective, longer-term livelihoods outcomes in cities. Focusing on Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray, the study explores how urban IDPs are trying to rebuild their lives in a context shaped by the legacy of war, economic strain and an increasingly protracted displacement reality.
The research draws on an extensive review of existing evidence alongside primary qualitative fieldwork conducted between June and September 2024, including interviews and focus group discussions with IDPs, host community members and aid actors, followed by joint analysis and validation workshops.
The Mekelle paper is the first in a comparative series of city case studies, followed by studies in Mosul (Iraq) and Baidoa (Somalia), which together examine the gap between the livelihoods strategies IDPs are already pursuing and the types of support typically provided by humanitarian and development actors.
