A piece I first began drafting when I served as an Ibrahim Leadership Fellow is appearing in the print edition of Africa Policy Journal on pan-African migration. Titled How Africa Can Adopt a Pan-African Migration and Development Agenda, AFLI has permission to share ahead of the journal's appearance, the abstract of the piece.
It looks at the potential upsides to allowing intra-African migration, which is largely seen in a negative light, if the continent adopted constructive policies around migration for development. Currently Africa has restrictive policies on migration.
The abstract from the journal on the piece follows:
"Although most African migration is voluntary, safe, orderly, and regular, policymakers tend to pander to popular narratives of an irregular “swarm” of African nationals invading the West. African migration occurs primarily within the continent, representing broader processes of political, economic, and social development by contributing to growth rates, promoting regional economic integration, and fostering trade, investment, commerce, knowledge transfer, and human contact. If harnessed properly, migration could further enhance productivity in agriculture, construction, mining, and services within the continent.
Despite its potential, however, intra-Africa migration is hampered by restrictive policies including tight controls around visa access, rights of residency, employment, and citizenship for foreign African nationals.This article presents evidence-based scholarly research and policymaking on drivers, patterns and trends in African mobility, and makes concrete suggestions for how policymakers in the continent can design and implement pan-African migration policies that foster development."
You can read the full article at the Africa Policy Journal.
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