NADMO, ICMPD open Reintegration Coordination Secretariat
The National Disaster and Management Organisation (NADMO) in collaboration with the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), has opened a new Reintegration Coordination Secretariat at the NADMO Head office in Accra to help coordinate the activities of reintegration service providers in the country.
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The renovated facility, which was done under the auspices of the Return and Reintegration Facility (RRF), was funded by the European Union through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and implemented by the ICMPD.
Speaking at the inauguration of the secretariat on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the Deputy Director–General of NADMO in charge of Technical Reforms, Mr. Seji Saji, commended ICMPD for its continued partnership with the NADMO in rolling out major policy interventions for “our returned migrants especially in terms of reception and reintegration.”
For him, “Through ICMPD’s intervention, a number of NADMO Staffs have been trained in migration management related skills across the country.”
He added that with the support of ICMPD and its partners, the Migration and Reintegration Department of NADMO was able to establish the national platform for returnee reintegration service providers for both government agencies and NGOs in the country.
Mr. Saji expressed the conviction that the opening of the new Reintegration Coordination Secretariat would help to serve as the national information hub on reintegration activities in the country.
He also called on all reintegration service providers in the country to work with the new office, saying “I would also want to encourage all reintegration service providers in Ghana to work hand in hand with the Reintegration Coordination Secretariat to achieve its purpose.”
For her part, the ICMPD Head of Office in Ghana, Amala Obiokoye-Nwalor, said RRF has partnered with the Government of Ghana to strengthen the coordination mechanisms in the area of returns and reintegration, and enhance the capacity of key institutions to ensure that Ghanaian returnees are provided with appropriate information and care to enable their reintegration into the community.
She further indicated that within the framework of the project, ICMPD supported the Ghana Immigration Service to set-up the Migration Information Centre for Returns (MICR) at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), and has recently been supporting the NADMO to strengthen its capacity to coordinate the reintegration of returnees, including provision of trainings and the set-up of the Reintegration Coordination Secretariat (RCS).
Madam Obiokoye-Nwalor expressed the view that migration could have a positive impact on development if it was done right.
“At ICMPD, we strongly believe in the development potentials of migration if it is done in a humane, orderly and safe manner,” she said, adding “Unfortunately, when migration is not done regularly, through legal channels and pathways, it constitutes an infraction which could lead to the return of the migrant to their country of origin.”
Touching on the rationale of the project, the ICMPD Head of Office in Ghana, explained that returnees often arrive in their home country in different mental and physical states, requiring support to help them reintegrate back into their community.
That, she noted, the Reintegration Coordination Secretariat would play an important role by liaising and coordinating with different government and non-governmental organisations to ensure that Ghanaian returnees receive the required psychosocial, health care and economic support to help them find their feet and reintegrate back into their community and their families.