IDRC Research Chair for Ghana, Mary Setrana Boatemaa, co-authored article titled “Remittances, food insecurity, and coping strategies of West African migrants in Accra, Ghana”.

This study explores the connection between remittances and food security, as well as migrant coping strategies through a survey of 420 West African migrants in Accra. By examining the experiences of this migrant population, we aim to highlight the effect of remittances (both cash and food) and other socioeconomic characteristics on food insecurity scores. Thus, we highlight the vulnerabilities faced by some West African migrants in Accra and identify possible policy intervention and community support. Our study discovers important initial insights on reverse remittances to migrants (i.e. the flow of resources from the origin country to migrants abroad (Mobrand, 2012)), a subject that is limited in migration literature. The situation is compounded by a global pandemic with consequences across all the origin countries of the respondents. Most migrants, regardless of the type of remittance received, are moderate to severely food insecure. We also found that educated and employed migrants have lower food insecurity scores. Many who have stayed for longer periods in Accra are also less food insecure. In fact, the period of stay of migrants is likely to enhance the promotion of social ties with other migrants and citizens of the destination country and could provide a social safety net during crisis periods. However, we observe a statistically significant reduction in food insecurity given the duration of stay applies only to the pre-pandemic era. As expected, household size is associated with high food insecurity during and after the pandemic.

IDRC Research Chair for Ghana, Mary Setrana Boatemaa, co-edited this open access book titled “Urban Migrant Inclusion and Refugee Protection – Volume 2 Global Perspectives of Sanctuary, Solidarity, and Hospitality”.

This book offers the first comprehensive global overview of urban and local initiatives, policies, and practices towards including and protecting migrants in vulnerable situations and refugees. The chapters in this volume illustrate the various urban solidarity practices in different world regions, while highlighting important differences arising from geographical, political, geopolitical, economic and demographic contexts. The volume contains a mix of chapters that present comprehensive and state-of-the-art literature reviews and the results of empirical case studies that offer original regional perspectives of migrant and refugee inclusion and exclusion, and the policies, politics and rights of urban solidarity.

Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, economies, and societies. It exacerbates the causes of forced displacement, rendering millions of people stateless. In 2022, Africa experienced approximately 16.5 million internal displacements鈥攁 17 percent rise compared to the previous year. Over half of all new reported displacements that year were caused by climate-related disasters, and nearly 60 percent of refugees and internally displaced persons resided in countries highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (Siegfried, 2023). This trend is mirrored in the West African region, where disaster-related displacements nearly tripled, reaching a record high of 7.4 million for the region (IDMC, 2023).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that by 2050, about 216 million people could be displaced within their countries due to environmental factors such as rising sea levels, droughts, and extreme weather events. These statistics demonstrate a close link between climate change and human displacement. As climate-related disasters increase, they not only uproot vulnerable populations but also exacerbate existing gender inequalities. The impacts on women, girls, and gender-diverse populations are particularly severe, exposing them to heightened risks of gender-based violence (GBV), limited access to education and healthcare, and economic marginalization.

The intersection of climate change, displacement, and gender is therefore a critical and urgent issue. Addressing climate change with a gender-sensitive approach is essential to ensure that all displaced individuals receive the support they need, and to build a more equitable and resilient future for all.

Despite growing recognition of the interconnectedness of climate change, gender, and forced displacement, policy responses remain fragmented and often fail to address the unique needs of affected populations. This webinar will explore the complex interplay between climate change, gender, and forced displacement, highlighting existing policy gaps and proposing actionable recommendations to mitigate the disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups. It will also acknowledge the importance of power dynamics in achieving socioeconomic liberation.

The focus of this webinar will be on identifying the unequal power dynamics and socioeconomic challenges faced by climate-induced displaced populations in various countries within the West African region. The goal is to understand how power dynamics influence socioeconomic liberation, amplify the voices of climate-affected populations, and create a platform for stakeholders to explore strategies for addressing these challenges, improving conditions, and empowering displaced individuals.

This event will take place in English and French.

Professor Mary B. Setrana, the IDRC Research Chair and Director of CMS, highlighted that as of the end of 2022, an estimated 108.4 million individuals were forcibly displaced from their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency. She emphasized that the majority of these displacements were caused by factors such as violence, conflicts, human rights violations, climate change, and the lack of political will to relocate, resettle, or compensate affected victims, particularly in cases involving the construction of infrastructure like roads and shopping malls. Professor Setrana cited the ongoing disaster at the Centre, where offices and classrooms have been affected by heavy rains since June 2023, with no resettlement package or compensation provided, as an example of forced displacement.

She underscored that the current estimate of forced displacement represents a doubling of the 42.7 million displaced persons recorded a decade ago and is the highest since the Second World War. Notably, women and children are the most affected populations in forced displacement scenarios, with women facing limited alternatives and often finding themselves in vulnerable situations.

Despite the increasing numbers, there remains a lack of sufficient knowledge and interventions regarding the intersection of gender with the drivers of displacement, livelihood opportunities, access to economic resources, and other essential services.

Professor Setrana expressed optimism that the IDRC project would facilitate knowledge production, inform policy-making processes, and offer valuable lessons for addressing forced displacement in West Africa and globally.

Research Chairs and colleagues, with IDRC and 杏吧原创 University staff and professors, in Dar es-Salaam

To the casual observer, this gathering of academics may have looked like just another ivory tower workshop, long on talk and short on new ideas. A closer look would reveal something truly unique: a frank debate about forced displacement between experts based in countries like Mexico, Thailand, Lebanon and Burkina Faso. A debate that was taking place in Tanzania, another country with a lot at stake when it comes to displacement. The conversation was held with no filter and absent the heavy hand of donors or northern academics with fixed agendas, from countries where the crisis is always far away, and migration is always something to be 鈥渕anaged.鈥� Here was a genuine attempt to peel back the usual layers of gatekeepers and sub-grantees from the Global North and let experts from Morocco, Ethiopia and Ghana discuss the usefulness of international policy spaces like the Global Refugee Forum to Africa, or how to address the increased securitization of migration in Africa.

If the conversation was frank, getting everyone together wasn鈥檛 always easy. Visa problems are a constant reality for academics from countries in the Global South, even when travelling to other Global South countries. Flights often transit through Europe or the Gulf, adding hugely to the cost and travel time. Finding quality translation in certain languages can be expensive and difficult. The lack of academic journals based in Global South universities can make it hard to find a home for conference proceedings outside of the Global North. These are not simply logistical challenges, they represent facets of our colonized world that, like a vortex, pulls academic conferences, workshops, and publications inevitably towards the Global North. Over the next few years, the Chairs will be embarking on an innovative plan of co-authored and co-designed research projects, alongside a series of webinars, conferences, workshops and events, in multiple languages and across multiple continents. These activities will test the limits of technology in our interconnected world, and highlight the flaws and gaps in the current academic system.

What does the localization of forced migration research really mean? It means letting the real experts speak and actually listening to what they have to say. It means giving money for research without needing to control the outcome. It means being willing to let that research change your mind. It means having a conversation in a language other than English. It means recognizing the vital roles of teambuilding and egalitarian debate, when western academia is modeled on competition and complex social hierarchies about who speaks and who listens. Yet this is not to say that donors and northern academics have no role to play. Quite the contrary. Canada鈥檚 International Development Centre and 杏吧原创 University facilitated the workshop, but we were there to listen and support, not dictate or dominate. The workshop agenda was set by the Research Chairs, the conversation was led by them, and the message, for once, was loud, clear, and unfiltered: Localization doesn鈥檛 just mean having a seat at the table, it means having all the seats.

In Thailand, the second IDRC Research Chair was officially launched on May 9th at the Asian Institute of Technology. The Gender and Development Studies (GDS) program at AIT inaugurated the alongside the appointment of the IDRC Endowed Research Chair Professor on Gender and Forced Displacement. Professor Paula Banerjee, an esteemed scholar in gender, migration, and forced displacement, has been appointed as the Chair and will serve as the director of the center.