Strengthening Migration Data Collection and Analysis in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe

Southern Africa is home to different types of migration, consisting of countries of origin such as Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe and destination countries such as South Africa and Botswana, with South Africa being the biggest recipient country. Despite the high volume of population mobility within the region, there is dearth of data on the number of international migrants in SADC. In countries where data on international migration is available, the data are fragmented, and non-comparable between the countries. The lack of data on migration in the region has made it difficult to formulate evidence-based migration policy development, design and evaluation in the region. The proposed project aims to support the ongoing efforts to strengthen migration data at the national and regional level.
This overall objective will be achieved through the implementation of several components to strengthen the capacities of national institutions in the areas of migration data collection and management. National consultations will take place in each of the 5 countries to ensure early engagement of national actors and create the space for these actors to determine the scope of the project and the development of subsequent components. A short assessment will then be carried out focusing on good practices in migration data capacity building based on a literature review as well as interviews in situ. The assessment report will be shared with the concerned national focal points and serve as a basis for subsequent components.
Thirdly, a roadmap will be developed on how to improve the evidence base for migration-related policy. These will cover how to collect and make better use of existing migration data for informing policies and further actions.
A regional workshop will convene 2 or 3 representatives from each of the five governments from the lead or relevant institutions regarding migration data in addition to NSOs; moreover, SADC and African Union representatives will also be invited. The purpose of the workshop will be to train the participants, collect feedback from them for finalization of the handbook and training manuals and propose a SADC level roadmap for future action.