EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE UNITED NATIONS LAUNCH TWO GHANA PROJECTS UNDER THE JOINT MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

ACCRA, 18 DECEMBER 2009 - The European Commission and the United Nations will launch today two Ghana projects which are being funded under the Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) in commemoration of International Migrants Day.

A total of €388,653 or ¢808,536.29 has been provided to help national civil society organizations to carry out concrete projects with their European counterparts in two priority areas – relating to migrant communities and migrant capacities.

Chargé d'Affaires, Kurt Cornelis, Acting Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ghana said that the Joint Migration and Development Initiative is another important Milestone towards an enhanced UN-EU collaboration. “To pursue our common vision of creating a better life for everybody in this world, combining our efforts and strengths in key areas of poverty reduction, protection of Human Rights, maintaining democratic principles as well as maintaining peace and security is fundamental. Migration is at the same time cross-cutting and key driver in those areas. Protection and welfare of the human being is at the heart of our efforts and in this perspective securing the positive impacts of migration has become as important to us as mitigating the adverse effects of illegal migration and human trafficking. It is against this background that the European Council has adopted the Global Approach to Migration in 2005 which has led into several cooperation frameworks, out of which the conclusions reached at the Tripoli Conference between the EU and AU in 2006 have market a turning point for a joint commitment between the EU member States and African countries towards working together on migration and development. It is in the same spirit that the European Commission has contributed 15 Million Euros to this Joint Migration and Development Initiative over a period of 3 years. We are keen to see the success of hands-on implementation of the JMDI here in Ghana and congratulate the selected projects for their innovative and comprehensive approach.

Mr. Daouda Toure, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, said “The Joint initiative is unique as it capitalizes on the expertise and resources of European Commission and several United Nations Agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to make migration work for development. At the country level UNDP acts as the focal point for JMDI implementation with a UN Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) providing technical backstopping. The IATC comprises representatives from UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, ILO and IOM. I am delighted that the EC-UN Joint Initiative recognises the positive contribution that migrants can make to development both in countries of origin and destination. This Joint Initiative demonstrates how international organizations can work together to harness the energy of small-scale actors to deliver local solutions to global challenges. The Initiative cast within the UN's mandate reaffirms the UN's commitment to “achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights.” The UN system in the Ghana is enthusiastic about the selected projects and we will surely deliver as one in contributing our institutional knowledge, expertise and extensive networks to ensure their success. We are also looking forward to working even more closely with the European Commission, in scaling up our existing partnerships in other areas, to strengthen the linkage between migration and development.”

The two projects comprise the Sankofa Family Poultry and the Buduburam Community Capacity Development Initiative which are funded with €188,749 and €199,904 respectively.

The Sankofa Family Poultry project aims to re-establish smallholder poultry breeding in five communities in Tamale and three communities in Somey to improve the livelihood and nutrition of the people in the beneficiary communities. The activities to be carried out include the training of 130 people in poultry health, providing 170 women with microcredit support to establish sustainable livelihoods, an HIV/AIDs awareness campaign and financial literacy. Female members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Holland will be

supported in the transfer of their experience and knowledge of basic agricultural techniques and health measures to local women and in advocating for pro-development policies in Ghana.

The Buduburam Community Capacity Development Initiative aims to provide entrepreneurial-driven, sustainable, economic livelihood and empowerment through the development of ICT skills, and provision of technical and managerial training for existing CBOs. Additionally, micro-credit/loan scheme will be provided for 200 people. The main beneficiaries of the project include Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees and returnees as well as Ghanaian host population in and around the Buduburam Refugee Settlement Camp.

The EC/UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) is a three-year programme funded by the European Commission. The Joint Initiative is implemented by the UNDP, IOM, UNFPA, UNHCR and ILO and introduces a new way of making migration work for development by using an innovative, bottom-up approach that will support small-scale actors to undertake concrete actions. For more information, please visit: www.migration4development.org