The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is to partner with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in having a functional and reliable harmonised migration data for the sub-region.
The IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Enira krdzalic, disclosed this at the end of a workshop/training on Migration Data Management in ECOWAS on Thursday in Abuja.
The IOM officer stressed the need for effective migration management and adequate data on migrants in the ECOWAS sub-region for proper planning and policy implementation.
She said “migration is a fact of life and it serves an important purpose as it allows civilisation to flourish and help in cross-cultural exchanges.
“Effective migration management requires solid data management foundation; it is, therefore, essential that ECOWAS and its member states establish a harmonised system of data collection and management.”
krdzalic said the workshop was meant to train key stakeholders, including ECOWAS and immigration officials on how to collate, analyse, harmonise and use migration data in the sub-region.
“I would like to assure ECOWAS that the IOM and the Free Movement of Persons and Migration (FMM, West Africa) would be your partner in your request to create the necessary data collection mechanism in your respective countries,” she said.
The three-day workshop highlighted the need for improved administrative data sources and include migration section in the census of ECOWAS member states.
The workshop was attended by officials from ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS member states, EU, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Non Governmental Organisations.
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