$32 billion less remittances for developing countries, but.....

Speaking at a conference on the impact of the global economic crisis on remittances (organized by COS Utrecht, AfroEuro Foundation, OxfamNovib and the ICMPD), Dr Manuel Orozco, of the Inter American Dialogue (Georgetown university) explained that annual remittances from the EU and the US to developing countries will decline by $32 billion. Participants at the 19 March conference heard that the crisis may reduce remittances. They also heard that it has made many re-examine how they can make more effective use of the money transferred. Ways to reduce transfer costs, ensure payments are sensibly used and raising financial literacy were all discussed.

Ten lessons emerged from the presentations and discussions:

1) Remittances are critical to different extents in different developing countries: They contribute around 25% of GDP in Sierra Leone and Suriname.

2) Changes in prosperity in the EU already impact heavily on remittances from the UK, Spain and Italy. The EU as a whole makes up 1/6th of global remittance flows.

3) More migrants shift to the grey economy as countries tighten their regulation and as anti-immigration sentiment rises.

4) Decline in remittances is felt in three areas: asset building, poverty reduction and the multiplying effect of local purchases by recipients.

5) The loss of incomes in developing countries can cause migratory pressures, but some speakers stressed that the global crisis could deter migration as prospects are reduced in the developed world.


6) Remittances and capital flows from the EU represent 10% of foreign aid. They are substantial comprising direct remittances, nostalgic trade (purchase of items from origin country), donations and investments.

7) Different effects of the crisis, such as the impact of mortgage costs, often has a smaller impact on migrants. The crisis may be an opportunity for migrants to re-examine remittances and ensure the recipients use them wisely, by controlling the way the payment is made.

8) Approaches to alleviate situation focus on financial literacy. E.g. the inter-american dialogue worked with a project using $80,000 to reach 25000 people, with a financial literacy program convincing 5000 people to mobilize 1000$ deposits into microfinance institutions.

9) Some remittances go further because of devaluation, Seychelles currency has fallen 52% Ukraine by 34% and South Africa by 27%.

10) Efforts to reduce the cost of transactions have ranged from negotiations with banks, the introduction of deregulation to encourage competition and allow new intermediaries, and the use of new technologies such as mobile phones for micro payments and websites such as geldnaarhuis.nl to compare options.

See some blips interviews recorded during this event:

• Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, Afford UK
• Pedro de Lima, European Investment Bank
• Leila Rispens-Noel, INAFI International
  

by Chris Addison

See also the Brussels Briefings and accompanying reader or subscribe to the euforic feed or email alert on migration.

Eighth Brussels Briefing on migration and rural development

On December 11th, CTA and Euforic - in partnership with the European Commission-DG Development and EuropeAid, the EU Presidency, the ACP Secretariat, Concord and IPS Europe - have organised the eighth in the series of Brussels Development Briefings, entitled 'Does international migration affect ACP rural development?'

This Briefing discussed the benefits and challenges that migration can have on the agricultural and rural development of ACP countries, looking at the effects of remittances in this sector as well as the role of ACP diasporas in the development of their economies.

The programme, the background note, and the presentations are available online.

Earlier Brussels Briefings looked at 'Rising food prices: an opportunity for change?', 'New drivers, new players in ACP rural development', 'Does Fair Trade contribute to sustainable development?', 'The climate challenge for ACP agriculture', 'Aid for Trade', 'Advancing African Agriculture' and 'Challenges to rural development in ACP countries.'

Sign up for the Brussels Briefing newsfeed ; also Euforic newsfeeds on rural development, agriculture and migration

EU’s “Blue Card” rubs salt into wound of hurting nations

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 55, October 2008

Ways must be found to turn the global movement of labour into a win-win situation. The European Union’s plans to develop a “Blue Card” to attract highly qualified migrants to meet its labour needs raises several urgent questions, particularly for African governments grappling with critical shortages of health workers.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says Africa has already lost one-third of its human capital and continues to lose skilled personnel at an increasing rate, with an estimated 20,000 doctors, university lecturers, engineers and other professionals leaving the continent annually since 1990. The IOM estimates that there are currently 300,000 highly qualified Africans in the diaspora, yet at the same time Africa spends US$4 billion annually to employ some 100,000 western experts.

The effects of this brain drain are felt directly in key sectors of African economies, particularly education and health. Ten years ago there were 1,600 doctors in Zambia; only 400 are left now. In Kenya, 90 per cent of the medical personnel migrate to Europe and the USA every year. There are more Ethiopian-trained doctors practising in the city of Chicago alone than in the whole of Ethiopia, and more Malawian-trained doctors practising in Manchester than in Malawi.

Largely as a result of this massive haemorrhage of personnel, Africa has only three per cent of the global health workforce, despite bearing 25 per cent of the world’s diseases. The health workforce is undoubtedly the driver of health systems. Migration of this precious resource from Africa has resulted in severely weakened health systems that can barely provide services, let alone pursue the aspirations of the Millennium Development Goals.

The proposed Blue Card of the European Union (EU), a special residence permit to be granted to immigrants, is bound merely to aggravate the situation, legitimising the movement of labour to Europe at the expense of low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. An exodus of health professionals will create an even greater global imbalance, with host countries creating reservoirs of health care professionals to replenish their aging and diminishing workforce while African countries have to put increasing pressure on health systems that are already stretched to breaking point. Ultimately, the further depletion of Africa’s intellectual property will reverse gains made in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and fighting against HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

The European Union must consider the moral and ethical implications of its proposal before introducing the Blue Card. My gut reaction would be to ask the EU to have an exclusion clause for health professionals. But free movement is a human right, and African health professionals will move to Europe anyway, with or without the Blue Card. Moreover, we cannot
ignore globalisation, and there is a need for African health professionals to contribute to alleviating the global burden of disease while enjoying the fruits of their hard work. We must therefore look for ways to turn the global movement of labour into a win-win situation for both Africa and Europe.

The challenges of stemming the brain drain are daunting, but certainly not insurmountable. They require, however, a collaborative effort by African governments and the western governments and institutions that recruit from Africa. To contain the health workers still on the continent and attract others from the diaspora, African governments must vigorously address the “push” factors that lead to migration. They must provide qualified health professionals with employment, competitive salaries and incentives – such as good housing, opportunities for professional and career development, and health facilities equipped with the basic requirements.

Europe too must be proactive in ensuring that African health systems are not robbed of valuable human resources without receiving compensation or restitution. Support could be extended to programmes that train health workers specifically for the African context, such as the African Medical and Research Foundation’s Diploma in Community Health course, and the
innovative eLearning Programme that trains nurses virtually, allowing them to learn and work at the same time.

If Europe must recruit from Africa, it should invest in building the capacity of training institutions to enable Africa to train enough health workers for itself and to meet Europe’s needs. With expanded physical and fiscal space, the EU could contract individual African countries to produce health workers for them.

Ultimately, both the EU and African governments must implement policies that address health workforce densities, the weakened African health systems and resultant inequities, and the burden of global diseases.

Dr Peter Ngatia is the Director for Capacity Building at the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).

This article was also published in Kenya’s Daily Nation on 9 July 2008.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on migration, health, and Concord

CONCORD condemns using aid for immigration control

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 58, 2008

While European and G8 countries are failing to deliver on their international aid commitments, European Development NGOs are deeply concerned about linking immigration control and development cooperation.

On 7 and 8 July 2008 the French Presidency submitted a draft European pact on immigration and asylum to its partners at the informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers in Cannes. This draft pact suggests that migration should
become an important element in all the Member States’ external dealings. It invites Member States to sign agreements on migration and development with countries of origin or transit.

“These agreements, which bring the fight against illegal immigration and development under the same framework , have allowed France and a few other OECD members to use aid to put pressure on developing countries when negotiating tough readmission agreements. Generalising this negotiating tactic at European level could be very damaging for developing countries” explains the Vice-Chair of Coordination SUD (the French national NGO platform) who is responsible for European issues.

“Linking development policies with migration entails a clear risk of undermining the focus on the eradication of poverty and inequality in the poorest countries. Europe cannot tie the allocation of aid to developing countries to progress on legal or illegal migration and readmission. Whilst EU Member States may sign agreements on migration with third countries, these should not become conditions for development cooperation” says Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs.

CONCORD calls for aid programmes to retain poverty eradication and sustainable development as primary objectives, in line with the European Consensus on Development and the Maastricht Treaty. While many countries of origin for migration flows are currently suffering from a food shortage, European aid must support essential social services, agricultural development and poverty eradication rather than the capacity of these countries to control their potential migrants. Aid must not be retargeted on the fight against “illegal immigration” in countries of origin or transit.

For further information contact Melis Alguadis

See the Euforic newsfeeds on Concord and on migration

European NGOs condemn putting aid at the service of immigration control

Source: Concord Press Release, July 2008

While European and G8 countries are failing to deliver on their international aid commitments, European Development NGOs are deeply concerned about linking immigration control and development cooperation.

On 7 and 8 July 2008, the French Presidency presented a draft European pact on immigration and asylum to its partners at the informal meeting of Justice and home affairs Ministers in Cannes. This draft Pact suggests migration should become an important element in all External Relations of the Member States. It invites Member States to conclude agreements with countries of origin or transit on migration and development.

“These agreements, which bring the fight against illegal immigration and development under the same framework, have allowed France and a few other OECD members to use aid to put pressure on developing countries when negotiating tough readmission agreements. Generalising this negotiation tactic at European level could be very damaging for developing countries” explains Vice-Chair of Coordination SUD, the French national NGO platform, responsible for European issues.

“Linking development policies and migration presents clear risks of undermining the focus on the eradication of poverty and inequalities in the poorest countries. Europe cannot tie the allocation of aid to developing countries to progress on legal or illegal migration and readmission. Whilst European Member States may sign agreements on migration with third countries, these should not become conditions for development cooperation” says Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs.

European Development NGOs call for aid programs to retain poverty eradication and sustainable development as primary objectives, in line with the European Consensus on Development and the Maastricht Treaty. While many countries of origin for migration flows are currently suffering from food shortage, European aid must support essential social services, agricultural development and poverty eradication rather than the capacity of these countries to control their potential migrants. Aid must not be retargeted on the fight against “illegal immigration” in countries of origin and transit.

Contact: Melis Alguadis melis.alguadis@concordeurope.org

Official results of the informal meeting of the justice and home affairs ministers - French Presidency website

Pictures about migration available on http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=137


See also Euforic's newsfeeds on CONCORD and migration

Brain drain: consequences for developing countries

A recent paper by the Austrian research institute for international development (ÖFSE) describes policies of the UN, EU and OECD regarding migration and the consequences of 'brain drain' for developing countries.

All three organisations agree on certain demands regarding an international migration policy including:

• the promotion of regular and the fight against illegal migration
• an improved migration management
• stronger connection between migration and development
• increased coherence between the related policies
• promotion of circular migration, a stronger usage of remittance and enhanced cooperation between Diaspora groups
  

Nonetheless, there are differences regarding the inclusion of human rights aspects which is strongly supported by the UN, and the prioritisation of migration control as seen in the EU.

The paper describes the consequences of 'brain drain' for developing countries. Negative aspects are the loss of human capital, causing shortages in strategic sectors like health, education, public services, industry and science and a loss of national economic investment and tax revenue. But there are also positive sides like remittances, transfers of knowledge and technology ('brain gain') and the positive role of Diaspora communities in the support of economic entrepreneurship in developing countries.

It highly depends on the context whether the migration of skilled personnel has positive consequences on a country of origin. In general the paper concludes that weak countries get weaker and strong countries gain.

The authors suggest more research on the topic with stronger considerations regarding the context of migration and elaborations on the differences between countries.

by Martin Behrens

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African positions on the Externalization of EU Asylum policy

Attempting to control irregular migration, European states are currently developing new approaches to asylum policy based on the notion to externalize the refugee problem. This has led to the establishment of several bi- and multilateral initiatives that seek to strengthen refugee protection, especially in Maghreb and Sub-Saharan countries. The logic behind this wide spectrum of different initiatives is to foster cooperation with African states and thereby reduce the number of asylum seekers in the EU.

According to a recent paper of the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), EU member states thus primarily fund asylum, while the responsibility for physical protection is delegated to the South.

The paper argues that the new policy is based on the wrong assumptions that the Southern countries will cooperate and more importantly are able to substitute an internal European asylum policy with an external African approach. In contrast to European ideas, the authorities argue that there is already an asylum crisis in Africa:

“African states host more refugees, under more complex and insecure conditions, with less international assistance, and with fewer possibilities to find lasting solutions.”

To deal with these problems, African countries either reduce the number of asylum seekers by rejecting them at the border or even carry-out mass expulsions, or they reduce the quality of protection and assistance. The paper elaborates on the case of Tanzania which is currently hosting the largest refugee population in Africa. It concludes:

“If the European approach to African states, and indeed towards refugee-hosting states in the South, were better adapted to account for the position, perspective and concerns of those states, then genuine ‘win-win’ outcomes might be possible.”

The current approach only addresses European interests by ignoring African positions.

See also the paper of the German Institute for International and Security Studies (SWP) on irregular migration and the EU Commission's Green Book on Asylum Policy.

For regular updates on migration policies in Europe please register for Euforic's newsfeed on migration.

by Martin Behrens

Voices of the South on Globalization - Migration

The flows of remittances by migrants worldwide -- both recorded and unrecorded -- have become more than twice as large as the official aid received by developing countries and the greatest source of external financing for many of them.

Migrant persons are increasingly considered a driving force in the eradication of poverty and the promotion of sustainable household and community development.

At the global level, the 191 million migrants sent a total of 232 billion dollars in remittances during 2005; 54 billion dollars were sent to Latin America and the Caribbean.

The August 2007 issue of Voices of the South on Globalization on 'Migration - Benefits and Bane' can be downloaded in PDF:

Full issue

REMITTANCES IN FOCUS

DEVELOPMENT TO CENTRE-STAGE IN MIGRATION DEBATE

ROBUST REMITTANCES GROWTH HELPS BANGLADESH

REMITTANCES TO GHANA SWELL TO 4.3 BILLION DOLLARS

MIGRATION COULD YIELD A 'TRIPLE WIN'

YOUNG FOREIGN WORKERS SHORE UP PENSION SYSTEMS IN EUROPE

GLOBAL FLOWS OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRANT REMITTANCES

Voices of the South on Globalization is published by IPS Europe