MOGADISHU, July 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 7,000 displaced Somali families spread among 54 camps in the southern city of Baidoa have found new homes over the past eight months, the EU said on Saturday.
The EU said in a statement issued in Mogadishu that the families received plots of land on which to build own homes ending years of poor living conditions and anxiety over possible eviction.
"The project has so far reached more than 60,000 Somalis who are benefiting from Inter-community agreements and restoration of housing, land and property; improved standard of living through access to basic services; and increased access to realistic livelihoods," said the EU.
The EU-funded enhancing integration of displacement affected communities in Somalia consortium (EIDACS) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), with funding from the Norwegian government, have supported the process to ensure that displacement affected families are granted permanent ownership of their land in Baidoa.
The city of Baidoa which hosts an estimated 323,000 displaced people, many of whom live on private land without secure tenure agreements, are at constant risk of forced evictions, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The UN agency said it had developed the new public site together with the South West State authorities, the Baidoa municipality and the community for relocation of the displaced Somalis.
After the 2017 drought, the number of IDP sites in Baidoa increased from 70, reaching 391 in 2019.
This, the EU said, has put a heavy strain on the city's capacity to host and provide services to the newcomers as numerous households are at risk of eviction.
