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.

Pages

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

Reports

February 2019

Exploring New Legal Migration Pathways: Lessons from Pilot Projects

As European countries launch ambitious new legal migration partnerships with several origin and transit countries in Africa, this report takes stock of the long and mixed history of such projects. To make the most of their potential to encourage skills development and fill pressing labor gaps, policymakers will need to think carefully about the partners and sectors they choose, among other key considerations.

Policy Briefs

February 2019

Strengthening Refugee Protection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Development actors are well positioned to help close the gap in refugee protection system capacity that exists between high-income countries and those that have fewer resources. With 85 percent of the world's refugees in low- or middle-income countries that lack the means to support them fully, strengthening protection systems would benefit from new thinking and tapping the expertise of well-placed actors to assure a more comprehensive approach.

Articles

February 6, 2019

On the Move in a War Zone: Mixed Migration Flows to and through Yemen

War and impending famine in Yemen have captured significant attention. Yet often overlooked is the country’s role as the epicenter of one of the world’s busiest mixed migration routes, linking Africa, Asia, and Europe. This article examines the migration pathways to and through the country, push and pull factors, and the impact of civil war on human movement.

Articles

January 10, 2019

An “Informal” Turn in the European Union’s Migrant Returns Policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa

The European Union's focus on formal readmission agreements with migrant-origin countries to manage the return of irregular migrants and failed asylum seekers has given way since 2016 to informal arrangements. This article explores the potential effect that nonbinding readmission pacts could have on migrant returns to sub-Saharan Africa, where return rates from EU Member States have been low.

Articles

December 14, 2018

Intensifying Focus on Migrant Returns Takes a More Global Stage

Questions of how, when, and under what conditions migrants and asylum seekers can be returned to their origin countries have featured prominently in international discussions of migration in 2018. Crucially, so too has an increased interest on the part of both destination and origin countries in making reintegration assistance more effective to help ensure that return is sustainable.

Articles

December 10, 2018

“Silent” Refugee Crises Get Limited International Attention

Despite the major focus by media and publics on a handful of refugee crises around the world, displacement situations worsened during 2018 in a number of countries that received much less attention, including the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan—where unending conflict, new displacement, rising starvation, and an Ebola outbreak made already complex situations even more dire.

Articles

November 15, 2018

The Emerging Crisis: Is Famine Returning as a Major Driver of Migration?

Despite long study of famine, there is a remarkable lack of research about the linkages between mass starvation and migration. Among the unanswered questions: Does migration mitigate starvation or worsen it? With famines returning, most notably in war-torn Yemen, after a period of decline, the need for knowledge is essential. This article examines the causes and migration patterns of great famines from the 19th century onward.

Articles

October 31, 2018

Can Uganda’s Breakthrough Refugee-Hosting Model Be Sustained?

Uganda is the third largest refugee-hosting nation in the world, with more than 1 million refugees arriving in the last two years. Amid strong public solidarity for displaced neighbors, the government has emphasized the right to employment, enterprise, and free movement for refugees despite the country's poverty and limited resources. Can this generous "Uganda model" be sustained? This article explores the challenges and opportunities.

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