ADDIS ABABA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on Friday said quality data is critical to fostering inter-regional cooperation on migration.
The statement was made by Edlam Yemeru, acting director of UNECA's Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division, as she emphasized that using high quality data is critical to fostering inter-regional cooperation on the implementation of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (GCM).
"The UNECA continues working closely with member states and other relevant institutions to strengthen their national capacities on generation, analysis and dissemination of disaggregated migration data to support evidence-based policymaking and programming to fully integrate migration into development planning," a UNECA statement issued Friday quoted Yemeru as saying.
"In the long term, we want to see migration statistics being integrated into national censuses and surveys," Yemeru added.
The UNECA further underscored the need to reframe migration as a "development agenda now more than ever."
According to the latest figures from the UNECA, remittances to Africa amounted to 78.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, which is said to be three times higher than the foreign aid received by the continent during the same year.
Yemeru further emphasized the need to position migration as a means of recovery and build resilience of the African continent from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other external shocks.
She said the historic African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement is one such major opportunity, which will transform the continent, significantly boosting the GDP growth, manufacturing capacity and employment creation.
"In this context, migration and labour mobility become critical. The benefits of free trade envisaged in the AfCFTA are not attainable without the free movement of people," Yemeru said.
"It is, therefore, urgent to swiftly implement the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons to eliminate barriers to the movement of people within the continent and to enable African countries to reap the benefits of regular labour migration, because most Africans migrate within the continent, not outside."
Yemeru stressed that the UNECA remains determined to strengthening its collaboration with African countries and regional entities to expedite the full activation of the African continental free trade pact to ensure its maximize benefits for the continent and its resilience. ■
