December 2025

A nine-month project aimed at improving the evidence base for policies and programmes facilitating labour mobility within the ECOWAS region.

This initiative strengthened the research, teaching, training, and policy-engagement capacity of the Centre for Migration Studies through a consortium led by MDF Training & Consultancy.

This study analysed the welfare effects of rural-urban migration on migrant-sending households, examining both economic and social counterfactuals using survey data from 1,132 households across five regions.

Part of an EU-funded initiative, this project generated robust and policy-relevant data on the migration implications of crisis situations in host countries to support effective and cooperative state responses.

This study addressed gaps in understanding the operations of door-to-door shipping businesses between the UK and Ghana and their role in migrants’ livelihood strategies and transnational economic activities.

This project examined the contribution of migrants to development in destination countries, shifting focus beyond remittances to broader economic impacts. It informed policy debates on maximizing migration benefits while minimizing costs.

Abstract

West Africa is a region of intense mobility, with approximately 90% of international migration occurring within the region. Using a translocal livelihood and mobility approach at the household level, this project examines the interlinkages between migrants’ places of origin and destination. Focusing on Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Nigeria, the study analyses rural-urban and cross-border migration dynamics and their social, political, and ecological implications, including land use change, gender relations, urban growth, and environmental pressures.

This project explores how national and local governance contexts influence adaptive climate mobility in Ghana and Ethiopia. It examines how national policies are mediated by local governments and informal institutions, shaping household livelihood strategies and climate-change adaptation. Using field data, the project provides policy-relevant recommendations to government agencies and contributes insights on climate mobility practices to national and global actors. In Ghana, the study is conducted in the Upper West and Eastern Regions by the Centre for Migration Studies.

This partnership brings together 36 academics and 36 partner organizations to co-develop and share evidence-based knowledge on accommodating vulnerable and precarious migrants and refugees in major urban centres across Africa, Europe, North America, and Latin America. The project examines diverse approaches to migrant and refugee settlement and supports urban decision-makers in developing innovative and inclusive policies while advancing scholarly understanding.

The Migration for Inclusive African Growth (MIAG) network brings together researchers from multiple disciplines and non-academic stakeholders across Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria. The project seeks to understand how different migrant groups contribute to inclusive growth and to enhance this contribution by identifying policy and practice lessons and co-designing knowledge-exchange tools for migrants and the local actors they engage with.