This year’s International Migration Day was yesterday commemorated with a call on stakeholders to help reintegrate migrants and returnee migrants into the community.
The call was made by speakers at a symposium organised by the German Cooperation (GIZ) in collaboration with other partners such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations (UN), and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.
An exhibition fair dubbed “Migration Solution 360 fair” was also held to provide a platform for 80 returned migrants and local populace, who are beneficiaries of GIZ to exhibit and market their products and services.
Speaking on the theme “It takes a community”, the Chief of Mission of the IOM Ghana, Mrs Fatou Diallo Ndiaye, noted that it served as a reminder of one’s independence, shared humanity and individual contributions one would make to “our shared communities”.
She indicated that the IOM and GIZ, since 2018 had collaborated with the primary objective of contributing to the provision of comprehensive, gender-sensitive and sustainable reintegration assistance to Ghanaian returning migrants.
This, Mrs Ndiaye said had been accomplished through three pillars namely, the provision of personalised reintegration support, support for psychosocial and mental support and assistance in community and collective reintegration.
According to her, the IOM viewed to be sustainable when returnee migrants had reached a certain level of economic self-sufficiency, social stability within their communities and psychosocial well-being that would allow them to cope with (re)migration drivers.
On her part, the Country Director of GIZ, Ghana, Mrs Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, said “migration can bring significant development benefits to both countries of origin and destination.”
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY & CHARITY ASUKA