On Monday 22 February 2022, In the framework of the ERRIN Government-to-Government project in Ghana, a Migration Information Centre for Returnees (MICR) was established at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
The MICR was formally inaugurated with an opening ceremony, which included a joint ribbon-cutting between Dr. Joachim Stamp, Minister for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration and Deputy Prime Minister of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi, Chief Director at Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Ghana. The MICR is designed to ensure that Ghanaian returnees are provided with appropriate information, care and necessary tools, to enable them commence their reintegration journey.
The project is implemented by ICMPD and the Repatriation and Departure Service of the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia and the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The ERRIN Senior Programme Manager, Mr. Ruben Laurijssens, speaking at the event, highlighted that the aim of the initiative is to create a more direct operational cooperation between government institutions, with a special focus on building their capacities to better assist returning migrants.
The MICR initially started as a desk at KIA in 2019, however, with the support of ERRIN, it was upgraded into a Centre. Since its inception, the Centre has assisted over 1200 returned migrants, 600 of which have benefited from reintegration assistance from different organisations.