Ghana – In April the Government of Ghana formally approved a National Migration Policy (NMP.)  The policy was developed with support from IOM Ghana and the IOM Development Fund (IDF).

To support its implementation, between August and October 2015, IOM trained 48 government officials from 11 institutions. The two five-day trainings, which took place in Ho, the capital of the Volta Region, were designed to foster ownership and strengthen the capacity of key government officials to effectively implement the new policy.

They also provided a platform for dialogue and shared experiences to bridge the gap between strategy and implementation of the policy, which addresses internal migration, labour migration, diaspora mobilization and engagement, environment and climate change, migration and gender, border management, migrants’ protection, international cooperation, and other cross-cutting issues in migration management.

With support from the IDF, IOM initiated discussions with the government in 2014 for the creation of a comprehensive policy that would facilitate the integration of migration and development into national frameworks. It also supported the creation of an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on Migration (IMSCM.) The 16-member IMSCM is made up of representatives from various government institutions, academia and development partners, and is chaired by the Deputy Minister for the Interior.

Samuel Amankwah, Director of Research, Statistics and Information Management at the Ministry of the Interior, representing the Minister for the Interior at the second training, said: “Ghana’s government has come to the realization that if managed well, migration can be used as a catalyst to accelerate national development. There is no family in Ghana that is not touched by migration.”

“Ghana is facing multiple migration challenges that are currently being addressed by various ministries, departments and agencies. The policy will create a framework where all efforts will be orchestrated for maximum impact. The policy will only be as effective as the officers implementing it, which is why IOM is investing in capacity building at the very early stages post-adoption,” said IOM Ghana Chief of Mission Sylvia Lopez-Ekra.

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For further information, please contact Daniel Sam at IOM Ghana, Tel. +233 243 488817, Email: dsam@iom.int