Accra – 14^th-18^th March 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized a 5-day Training of Trainers workshop on the installation, setup and usage of the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS). MIDAS is a user-friendly, non-commercial, and customizable Border Management Information System that provides State with the possibility to collect process, analyse and share traveller information. Developed by IOM, MIDAS offers exclusive control and ownership of any data recorded. The workshop was organized under the auspices of the “Strengthening Border Security and Border Community Resilience in the Gulf of Guinea” project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

To promote south-south cooperation and peer learning, two facilitators from the Nigeria Immigration Service supported the facilitation of the MIDAS practical sessions. Fifteen (15) Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officers selected from the Management Information Systems department of the GIS national headquarters, Hamile and Kulungugu land Points of Entry (PoEs) took part in this maiden workshop.

Delivering the welcome remarks on behalf of the Chief of Mission, Senior Programme Manager, Nnamdi Iwuora, stated that “MIDAS, which will be installed at the ground crossing point of entries (PoEs) of Kulungugu and Hamile, will support improved passenger verification and processing, digitize migration data collection as well as offer access to watchlists and databases against which traveller details can be cross referenced”.

Dirk Kattlun, Federal Police Liaison Officer at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ghana, was optimistic that MIDAS will significantly impact the management of the Ghana’s land borders and thereby improve border security. He stated that “In a border region like the Ghanaian one, it is not only important to identify and arrest suspected criminals over a police search, but also to recognize persons, who cross the borderline in a certain area frequently. For example, to trade”. He further stated that “An additional advantage of MIDAS is that a lot of immigration organizations within ECOWAS use this system already. This offers the opportunity to Ghana and GIS to share data with its neighbours in the nearer future; an enormous benefit when it comes to combating cross border terrorism”.

The Deputy Comptroller-General in-charge of Finance and Administration at Ghana Immigration Service, Mr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah, in delivering his remarks emphasised that “the installation of MIDAS will represent a significant improvement in migration data collection and management of migration flows into and out of the country through the land borders”. 

The goal of the project is to contribute to the improvement of regional stability by strengthening border management capacities at select border posts in northern border regions of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo and the interventions include the renovation/construction of border posts, with the installation of renewable energy sources, the provision of patrol equipment, construction of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and installation of MIDAS among others.

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For more information, please contact Daniel Tagoe, National Project Officer at IOM Ghana, at dtagoe@iom.int, Tel: +233 30 274 2408.