Ghana remains one the most important West African countries as regards to migration cooperation with the European Union. While in Europe, many Ghanaians choose Germany, the region of North Rhine-Westphalia in particular, as their main destination. To this end, the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia and the government of Ghana have established a collaborative dialogue on migration management issues, putting dignified return and sustainable reintegration as one of the priority items on the agenda.
Facilitated by ERRIN, the first phase of Gov2Gov initiative in Ghana foresaw the establishment of a Migration Information Centre for Returnees (MICR) at the Kotoka International Airport and a round of training sessions for the Ghana Immigration Service’s staff (GIS), who are the first point of contact for returnees upon their landing in Accra.
In August and September 2020, we organised two capacity-building workshops designed to equip the GIS staff with specific skills that can further help them provide effective support to returnees and place the specific needs of retuning migrants at the very core of their activities. These included:
17-21 and 24-28 August 2020 | IT /MS Office and Database Management Training conducted by the IPMC IT Training Centre in Accra, to increase the capacity of GIS officers to collect, manage and analyse sensitive data;
29-30 September 2020 | A training session on counselling and conflict management techniques to sensitise officers on the psychosocial needs of returnees, with the aim of strengthening their counselling capacities and ensuring effective communication upon the returnees’ arrival.