The Desert Doctor Traversing Djibouti's Grand Bara Desert

The IOM mobile patrol units carry medical supplies, food, water and other essential items.

The patrols depart from the Migrant Response Centre in Obock, where migrants are provided with water, food, shelter, other essential items, medical care, as well as mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). The patrol heads towards the desert: the first stop where people are found gathering is in Fanteherou.

“There are much more women here now than I have previously observed,” Dr Youssouf says.

Fanteherou, located on the ‘Eastern Route’ between the city of Obock and the desert, is a small settlement hosting people displaced by drought and other reasons, and is where IOM’s mobile patrol units operate.

According to IOM data, the number of women and girls travelling along the Eastern Route – from the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti) to Yemen – nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022, from 53,200 to 106,700. In Djibouti, the percentage of women and girls on the move rose from 13 per cent in 2021 to 22 per cent in 2022.

The migrants mostly come from Ethiopia. Dr Youssouf greets and strikes up a conversation with the migrants as he assesses any medical needs among the group.

Nasteho Mouktar, 18, originally from Djidjia, Ethiopia, shared that she wants to go to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to find work as a domestic worker and provide for her family.