ReliefWeb

INTRODUCTION: IOM works with national and local authorities and local partners to identify and understand migration movements in West and Central Africa. Flow monitoring is an activity that quantifies and qualifies flows, migrant profiles, trends and migration routes at a given point of entry, transit or exit. The data collected provides an overview of migration in the region. Since February 2016, IOM Niger has been monitoring migration flows at six points across Niger. Given the immensity of the region of Agadez, a new FMP (Madama) on the Libyan border was activated in January 2019 to capture the outflows due to the proliferation of bypass roads. This new FMP complements that of Séguédine which is now only capturing incoming flows. The data collected provides an overview of migratory movements in the region.

Three cross-border FMPs (Dan Issa, Dan Barto and Magaria) were established in August and September 2018 on the border between Niger and Nigeria, which is over 1,000 kilometres long. The aim was to better understand migration routes along the southern part of Niger, and to complement the existing FMPs in Arlit and Séguédine. An additional FMP was setup in Tahoua, in central Niger, to better understand movements internal to the country.".

METHODOLOGY: Flow monitoring is an investigative tool that aims to highlight further understanding of internal, cross-border and intraregional migration. Areas of high mobility are identified across the country. DTM teams then conduct assessments at the local level to identify strategic transit points. Enumerators collect data using key informants at the Flow Monitoring Points; they may be staff at bus stations, police or customs officials, bus or truck drivers, or migrants themselves. A basic questionnaire mixed with direct observations makes it possible to collect disaggregated data by gender and nationality. In Niger, the Flow Monitoring Points were chosen after consultation with national and local stakeholders involved in migration management, and according to the locations and characteristics of the flows transiting through the Sahara Desert. The data collection is done at times when the flows are the most frequent.

LIMITATIONS: The data used in this analysis, including the maps, is an estimate and represents only a part of the existing flows on the migration routes passing through the country. The spatial and temporal coverage of these surveys is partial, although the collection is done daily and during periods when flows are significant. Finally, no information is collected on existing flows outside the times covered. Vulnerability data is based on direct observations by the enumerators and should be understood only as an estimate.