17m Africans migrate for greener pastures
News & Trends •
the report said remittances travelling back home from migrant workers both outside and inside africa rose on average from 38.4 billion dollars between 2005 to 2007 to 64.9 billion dollars during the two-year period up to the end of 20162 no fewer than 17 million africans left the continent in 2017 in search of greener pastures a new report by the un conference on trade and development unctad has said2 overall some 19 million international migrants moved within africa and 17 million africans left the continent during last year. the continent was also the destination for about 5.5 million people from outside the report found2 it said the large-scale migration of people within africa tended to boost growth and lifted the continents whole economy urging the world to dispel misconceptions and harmful narratives targeting migration2 the report also said cross-border movement offered a chance for a better life with the social and economic benefits extending to both source and destination countries as well as future generations2 mukhisa kituyi the secretary-general of unctad said at the launching the report our analysis shows this to be true for millions of african migrants and their families2 kituyi added that public perception particularly as it relates to international african migration is rife with misconceptions that have become part of a divisive misleading and harmful narrative2 the economic development in africa report also said 5.5 million people moved to africa from other continents while some 19 million international migrants moved within africa2 according to the report therefore remittances accounted for over half of the capital flows within the continent2 likewise migrants contributed nearly 20 per cent of the gross domestic product gdp in cte divoire according to figures from 2008 and 13 per cent in rwanda 2012 figures2 junior davis the lead author of the report said it provided evidence of the intimate correlation between migration and trade two sides of the same coin2 africa is on the cusp of tremendous change he said noting the recently agreed african continental free trade area and the protocol on the free movement of persons2 in this context the report contributes to a better understanding of the implications of intra-african migration for the continents socio-economic transformation davis added2 however alongside the numbers of migrants moving and working within africa the continent also has some of the highest number of people forced from their homes due to conflict or natural disasters2 on top of the development gains lost at home there is a significant economic and social burden faced by host countries leaving many migrants dependent on international humanitarian aid the report stated. nan2