The Kenyan city of Garissa is home to approximately 500,000 inhabitants and is the main urban center of Garissa County, making it a major economic hub. Garissa holds great significance in terms of urban migration and displacement in a context of regional conflicts, economic flows, climate change, and environmental degradation.

Gulu is among Uganda’s fastest growing intermediary cities. With a population of around 150,000 inhabitants and more than 275,000 persons living in the wider district, Gulu represents the largest urban center in the Northern Region of Uganda.  Migration and (internal) displacement related to the past civil war, conflicts in the region, economic inequality, climate change and environmental degradation play an important role in shaping Gulu city.

Home to a population of around 3.35 million inhabitants, the Ghanaian city of Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti region, linking Ghana’s north with the southern coast. Kumasi presents an important destination and transit city for internal migration as well as mixed migration connecting Ghana to Nigeria in the east and to multiple ECOWAS member countries in the west.

Oujda is an intermediary city in the northeast of Morocco. With a population of approximately 500,000 inhabitants, Oujda serves as the administrative center of the Oriental Region. Situated 13 km from the Algerian border and 60 km from the Mediterranean Sea, the city presents an important hub for rural-urban, inter-regional, and international mixed migration.

Home to a population of around 300,000 inhabitants, the Senegalese city of Saint Louis borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Republic of Mauritania and the Senegal River to the north. The intermediary city serves as a point of arrival, transit, residence, and return to a wide range of mobile populations.

Sfax is Tunisia’s second-largest city. Situated at the Mediterranean coast the city represents an important economic center connecting the north and south of the country. Sfax is home to around 615,000 inhabitants with approximately 950,000 inhabitants living in the wider agglomeration. The city experiences rural-urban, inter-regional, and international mixed migration.