KAMPALA – IOM, the UN migration agency in collaboration with the Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister, has organized a training for 25 officials to enhance their knowledge on how migration can be harnessed for development.

The three days training workshop held from 12-14^th November 2018 was supported by the Better Migration Management (BMM) programme through the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The BMM Programme is a regional, multi-year, multi-partner project co-funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). IOM is one of the main implementing partners of the programme alongside the British Council, CIVIPOL, Expertise France, GIZ, Italian State Police, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

More than 25 actors from Government authorities, international organizations and non-state actors took part in the training led by Tatiana Hadjiemmanuel, IOM Labour Migration and Migration and Development Senior Specialist for East and Horn of Africa, Alice Karara, Labor Migration and Human Development expert from IOM Rwanda, as well as experts from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and Makerere University.

Participants had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge on the nexus between migration and development and how migration can be harnessed for development. Specifically, the workshop aimed at enhancing the capacity of national stakeholders to mainstream migration into national development and policy planning. International and regional experiences and good practices were facilitated thanks to international facilitators.

The training event was part of the efforts to strengthen migration management capacities of the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration (NCM) in Uganda. The Government of Uganda established the NCM in 2015. The NCM promotes a whole of Government approach to migration by bringing together relevant Government and non-state migration actors, to deliberate on current and emerging migration issues.  

"We believe that migration is a reality that we cannot stop but need to manage well, and if well managed, it can contribute positively to development”, explained Erika De Bona Fofana, IOM Uganda Programme Coordinator. “The reason we are all here is to dialogue on how we can strengthen migration management in Uganda including acquiring the necessary skills that will enable us to do so”.

“The NCM is still at its early stages and therefore needs support to strengthen its structure and the capacities of its member for efficiency and sustainability”, said Douglas Asiimwe, Chair of the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration (NCM), during his opening speech. “It is my hope that we will use this training to strengthen our day to day work on migration.”

The BMM programme takes a regional approach and aims at providing capacity building to improve migration management, in particular to prevent and address irregular migration, including smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings. The intervention logic is based on four components: (1) support for policy and legislative development and harmonization for better migration and border governance (2) capacity building in the form of training, technical assistance and the provision of appropriate equipment to those implementing migration related policies; (3) support to the identification, assistance and protection of migrants in need; and (4) awareness-raising with regards to alternative livelihood options, including safe migration.

For more information please contact:

1. Erika De Bona Fofana, IOM : edebona@iom.int

2. Jesca Angida, IOM : jangida@iom.int