Africa (sub-Saharan)

Beyond intraregional migration, sub-Saharan Africans migrate to North Africa, Europe, North America, and beyond. The research offered here focuses generally on two aspects of sub-Saharan migration: the outcomes for these migrants and their children once they have settled in their countries of destination, the United States among them, and the roles that diasporas and development policies can play in the economic improvement of these African nations.

A woman in Nigeria smiles while using her mobile phone

Reports

Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances

Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.

Motorcyclists and pedestrians travel a road between buildings in Arua, Uganda

Reports

Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda

Small and mid-sized cities are some of the fastest growing in many parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa. Yet life in these cities can present a variety of challenges for migrants and displaced persons. This report examines these challenges in secondary cities in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda, and how local, national, and civil-society actors are working to address them.

Recent Activity

Commentaries April 2022 The UK-Rwanda Agreement Represents Another Blow to Territorial Asylum By Hanne Beirens and Samuel Davidoff-Gore	Reports April 2022 Digital Health Credentials and COVID-19: Can Vaccine and Testing Requirements Restart Global Mobility? By Lawrence Huang
Articles April 19, 2022 Persistent COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity Has Significant Implications for Refugees and Other Vulnerable Migrants By Jhinuk Mukhopadhyay and Gauri Thampi	Multimedia March 29, 2022 Are Climate Migrants Treated Differently than Other Migrants?
Multimedia February 15, 2022 Working Towards a More Gender-Responsive Reintegration Process for Returned Migrants	Multimedia December 10, 2021 When Climate Change Comes to Refugee Settings
Articles November 18, 2021 South Africa Reckons with Its Status as a Top Immigration Destination, Apartheid History, and Economic Challenges By Khangelani Moyo	Multimedia October 27, 2021 Climate Change and Environmental Migration: View from the IOM

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Policy Briefs September 2013 What We Know About Diasporas and Economic Development By Kathleen Newland and Sonia Plaza	Policy Briefs September 2013 What We Know: Regulating the Recruitment of Migrant Workers By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Policy Briefs September 2013 What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility By Graeme Hugo	Books July 2013 How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda
Books December 2012 Young Children of Black Immigrants in America: Changing Flows, Changing Faces	Reports October 2012 Black Immigrant Mothers in Palm Beach County, Florida, and their Children's Readiness for School By Lauren Rich , Julie Spielberger and Angela Valdovinos D’Angelo
Reports October 2012 Patterns and Predictors of School Readiness and Early Childhood Success among Young Children in Black Immigrant Families By Danielle A. Crosby and Angel S. Dunbar	Reports September 2012 Black and Immigrant: Exploring the Effects of Ethnicity and Foreign-Born Status on Infant Health By Tiffany L. Green

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AfricanUnionMinisterialConferenceonMigration

Feature

April 2, 2020

Africa Deepens its Approach to Migration Governance, But Are Policies Translating to Action?

While migration once was a lower-priority topic for African governments, the last decade has seen a deepening in governance. Policymakers have integrated migration into their national development strategies and mainstreamed it across policy domains such as health and education. The actions are promising on paper, yet questions remain about the extent to which they will translate to more effective migration management.

Spotlight

November 6, 2019

Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

The sub-Saharan African immigrant population in the United States is a small, but quickly growing, one. Between 2010 and 2018, the size of the sub-Saharan African population increased 52 percent, far outpacing the overall rise in the foreign born. Immigrants coming from the 51 sub-Saharan countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Somalia, are diverse in their origins and socioeconomic characteristics, as this Spotlight explores.

Feature

August 22, 2019

A Tightening Grip Abroad: Authoritarian Regimes Target Their Emigrant and Diaspora Communities

Authoritarian states have long attempted to restrict citizens’ movement. But what happens when their reach extends beyond their borders? The October 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi brought into sharp relief the long arm of these regimes in reaching citizens abroad. This phenomenon, “transnational authoritarianism,” further shows that the relationship between migration and authoritarianism is becoming more complex.

Feature

August 1, 2019

African Countries Relax Short-Term Visa Policies for Chinese in Sign of Increased Openness to China

China has been Africa’s largest trading partner since 2009, and as commerce and investment have increased, so have flows of people in both directions. With an estimated 1 million to 2 million Chinese migrants across Africa, some countries have relaxed their short-term visa requirements in hopes of facilitating cultural and business exchanges. High levels of Chinese investment do not, however, correlate with more liberal visa policies, as this article explores.

Feature

July 2, 2019

A Growing Destination for Sub-Saharan Africans, Morocco Wrestles with Immigrant Integration

Long a country of emigration and a springboard for migrants aiming to reach Europe, Morocco has emerged as a destination for many sub-Saharan Africans. As more migrants remain in Morocco, the kingdom has implemented policies to aid with integration. But challenges remain, with most of the estimated 700,000 sub-Saharan Africans living in precarious conditions and irregular status despite some legalization programs.

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Expert Q&A, Audio

November 25, 2020

One Billion Climate Migrants? Not So Fast

There are a lot of predictions about how many people will migrate in response to climate change. Depending on where you look, the next few decades could see hundreds of millions—or even more than 1 billion—people pick up and move.

Expert Q&A, Audio

October 21, 2020

Human Smuggling in an Age of Pandemic

As COVID-19 chilled global mobility, harmed economies, and sparked border closures and travel bans around the world, the pandemic has had an effect on the shadow migration world.

Event PH 2016.9.28 Refugees in Dadaab Kathleen and Bill

Video, Audio

September 28, 2016

An Uncertain Future for Somali Refugees in Dadaab

Back from a recent trip to the region, Human Rights Watch researchers discuss the situation of refugees at the Dadaab camp in Kenya and findings from on-the-ground interviews, along with recommendations for the Kenyan government and international community.

Video, Audio

October 27, 2015

Young Refugee Children: Their Schooling Experiences in the United States and in Countries of First Asylum

In this webinar, the authors of three papers on the experiences of refugee children present their findings, with a focus on how such experiences affect their mental health and education.

Audio

September 18, 2013

Preparing for the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development

The Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, along with the Special Advisor to the UN Special Representative for International Migration discuss what is expected from The UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in October 2013 and what impact it may have on the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

June 2023

Linking Migrant Reintegration Assistance and Development Goals

When migrants return to their countries of origin, their reintegration is often most successful in communities that are welcoming, have functional public services, and where livelihood opportunities are available. In recognition of these facts, there has been a growing push to connect reintegration assistance programs with efforts to support local development. This issue brief explores common approaches to building such links.

Reports

June 2023

Building Meaningful Refugee Participation into Protection Policymaking

One promising—but often underutilized—element of addressing the world’s urgent humanitarian protection needs is meaningfully engaging refugees in policymaking processes. As this report highlights, consultations, advisory roles, and leadership and staff positions can help ensure refugees’ knowledge and expertise are reflected in policy responses to displacement. The study also examines common limitations and ways to make engagement more impactful.

Expert Q&A, Audio

March 6, 2023

Climate Migration to Cities: Does the Move to Urban Areas Reduce Risk?

Are migrants, including those moving for reasons connected to climate change, likely to fare much better in the city when it comes to climate impacts? Tune in to this episode of our podcast, Changing Climate, Changing Migration, featuring noted climate expert Neil Adger of the University of Exeter, and find out.

Articles

March 1, 2023

Efforts to Manage Climate Migration Are Slowly Growing, but Their Focus Is Often Indirect

Can haphazard, unplanned climate displacement be turned into voluntary, safe migration? Projects explicitly aimed at addressing internal and international climate migration are rare, but development organizations increasingly are turning their attention to supporting them. This article catalogues climate mobility projects around the world and examines their primary goals, whether to support the movement or stay of people or help at destination.

Reports

February 2023

External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?

As asylum systems in many countries have come under considerable strain in recent years, there has been renewed interest in external processing—that is, conducting part or all of an asylum procedure outside a destination country’s territory. Some countries have pursued this to deter spontaneous arrivals, but as this report explores, others are using various external processing models to expand access to protection.

Articles

February 2, 2023

Migrants in Need Report Barriers to Assistance and Fragile Trust in Humanitarian Organizations

Many refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants do not trust humanitarian actors, are unable to access assistance, or did not have support when they needed it. This article, featuring findings from a large-scale survey involving more than 16,000 migrants in countries around the world, provides an overview of these challenges.

Articles

January 18, 2023

Amid Record Drought and Food Insecurity, East Africa’s Protracted Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

Catastrophic drought has thrust tens of millions of people in East Africa into acute food insecurity, raising the specter of famine. The extreme weather crisis, which follows years of conflict and economic disaster, has compounded long-running humanitarian challenges affecting refugees and internally displaced people, as this article explains.

Expert Q&A, Audio

December 15, 2022

A Century of Climate Migration Upheaval? An Audacious Prediction for the Future

As the planet’s temperature warms, award-winning environmental journalist Gaia Vince thinks humanity is facing a chaotic century of mass migration spurred by climate change? In this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration, she contemplates a future in which hundreds of millions of people move from one part of the globe to another.

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Africa (sub-Saharan)

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