Abidjan, March 22 – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today published a joint report designed to support practitioners and decision-makers in turning migration into a force for development in Africa.
The report, Engaging the diaspora, climate-induced migration and skills mobility: focus on Africa, examines the impact of migration on human development and poverty reduction. It provides insights into harnessing the potential of the African diaspora, building climate resilience and harnessing skills mobility to drive Africa’s development trajectory.
The key findings of the report show that:
- Diaspora participation is key to mitigating the impact of ‘brain drain’ and facilitates the flow of skills and knowledge from different parts of the world to the African continent and vice versa.
- African diaspora communities are key to addressing climate-related issues, ranging from sudden onset challenges to adaptation and disaster risk reduction, when their technical expertise is harnessed and skills mobility facilitated.
- Partnerships and collaboration remain vital to mainstreaming diaspora participation in policy and programmatic responses to climate change and skills mobility at national, regional and continental levels.
The findings are the result of a two-year collaboration between the two organizations, as well as members of the Multilateral Development Bank Platform on Economic Migration and Forced Displacement (EMFD).
The study shows that when migration is done right, it can be a powerful driver of human development and poverty reduction. It can promote sustainable and fair economies by introducing innovation, skills, knowledge and remittances between countries of origin and destination.
For more information contact:
IOM (Dakar): Naomi Shiferaw, snaomi@iom.int
AfDB (Abidjan): Linguère Mbaye, l.mbaye@afdb.org