Africa

IOM’s cooperation with the EU in Africa extends across all sub-regions and regional migration dialogues of the continent, including support to the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

EU-IOM collaboration led to the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration. Launched in December 2016 with funding from the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), the EU-IOM Joint Initiative is the first comprehensive programme to save lives, protect and assist migrants along key migration routes in Africa. The programme covers and closely cooperates with 26 African countries in the Sahel and Lake Chad region, North Africa and the Horn of Africa.

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative enables migrants who decide to return to their countries of origin to do so in a safe and dignified way, in full respect of international human rights standards and the principle of non-refoulement. In close partnership with state and non-state actors, it provides assistance to returning migrants to help them restart their lives in their countries of origin through an integrated approach to reintegration that seeks to address returnees’ economic, social and psychosocial needs while at the same time including communities of in the reintegration process.

The first NDICI-Global Europe instrument funding to IOM was approved in November 2021, with the Individual Measure for the EU-IOM Joint Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa. This extended the EU-IOM Joint Initiative programme from 1 November 2021 until 31 January 2023, both in the West and Central Africa and in the East and Horn of Africa regions.

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative Video Documentary: Fostering Strong Partnerships for Sustainable Integration (available with subtitles in English, French and Arabic) presents the trilateral partnership with African and EU Member States, showcasing cooperation with partner countries to respond to migration governance challenges and opportunities at sub-national and national levels. 

The anniversary booklet Towards Sustainable Reintegration: EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration – Five Years On (available in English, French, and Arabic) brings together stories and testimonies from EU-IOM Joint Initiative partners and beneficiaries, highlighting key achievements to date.