N’Djamena – Last week (09/08), IOM and the Government of Chad through the National Institute of Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED) signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen migration data Governance in Chad. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) includes support for improved migration data collection, governance, as well as capacity-building for national stakeholders on migration and mobility tracking.

The MoU was signed by IOM Chad Deputy Chief of Mission, Daniele Febei, and Dr. Baradine Zakaria Moursal, General Director of the INSEED, and formalizes the already strong relationship between the two entities.

“We are happy to strengthen our partnership with INSEED and strongly believe that this agreement will lay the groundwork for evidence-based migration management and policy development in Chad”, said Daniele Febei, on signing the agreement.

Within their respective mandates, stronger cooperation between IOM and the INSEED will support the establishment of a national working group on migration statistics in Chad and encourage joint research on migration in Chad, thus contributing to the achievement of the Global Compact for Migration’s objectives.

The agreement, which is in line with the IOM Migration Data Management Strategy, will also substantially contribute to the implementation of key strategic migration-related initiatives in Chad, including the Chad “Migration Profile”, as well as the successful roll-out of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) of which Chad is a “Champion Country”.

In Chad, migration is rooted in tradition, as in the case of transhumant herders, but can also be driven by adverse factors such as insecurity and the effects of extreme weather such as natural disasters. However, despite this multidimensional migration context, migration data are limited, especially complete migration data at the national level.

“Our aim through this agreement is to enhance the availability and promote the use of data to achieve stronger governance outcomes and positive impacts for migrants and societies”, said Yakin Mwanza, IOM Chad DTM Coordinator. Through the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), IOM is the principal UN agency producing regular, accurate and timely data and analysis on migration patterns in Chad. This cooperation agreement will strongly contribute to the sustainability of DTM activities in the country, by supporting their ownership by the Government through the INSEED.

“Ultimately, our objective is to ensure that national statistics stakeholders such as the INSEED can independently collect, analyse and report on migration data”, he added.

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For more information, please contact François-Xavier Ada-Affana, Communications Officer. Email: fadaaffana@iom.int.