Lusaka - The Ministry of Home Affairs with Support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will today host a two (2) day consultative meeting on the Zambia Migration Profile and the Migration Governance Indicators as well as consideration on the development of a national Migration Policy. The Government of the Republic of Zambia has highlighted the need for comprehensive data on migration that can be used for planning and policy making. However, at present, migration data in Zambia is analysed and addressed in a fragmented manner and administrative records are not collected for the purposes of measuring migration in its entirety.

IOM Zambia, has been providing support to the government of Zambia to have access to and utilize an increased level of reliable data on migration and ultimately develop a full migration profile. Improving migration management at a national level has been identified as a priority for the Government of Zambia.

“the Project is in two phases; the first Phase set the foundation for the development of the migration profile through the development of a migration data assessment, a report which highlighted data ability, data gaps and recommendations within the country.  The second phase of the project was the ultimate development of a full migration profile” Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Dr. Liya Mutale noted.

The Migration Governance Indicators have been developed by IOM to support states in measuring their policy performance against the Sustainable Development Goal Target 10.7 “Facilitate orderly, Safe, Regular and Responsible Migration and mobility of people including through the implementation of planned and well managed Migration Policies” as well as highlight potential areas for further development.

Both the Migration Profile and Migration Governance Indicators report provide useful information to stimulate national discussion on the development and content of a national Migration Policy, a direction that the Government of Zambia is keen to pursue in line with the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) continental and regional Migration policy frameworks.

“the validation process for the MGI and the Migration Profile presents an opportunity for the Government of the Republic of Zambia to take deliberate steps towards evidence based sound migration governance consistent with the Global Migration Compact as well as Goal 10.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals” stated Naomi Shiferaw, IOM Regional Policy and Liaison Officer for Southern Africa.

For more information please contact: Emmanuel Sinkala - esinkala@iom.int, IOM Zambia