Irregular Migration and Food Security: A View from West Africa

How does food insecurity affect irregular migration, and what role can a needs-based humanitarian response play? A recent collaboration between IFPRI and the World Food Programme took a route-based approach to looking at irregular migration in West Africa—examining migrant origins, their transit experience, and the situation where their journey stalls or ends. The mixed method study includes case studies of the Ténéré desert crossing, across the south-central Sahara, for Malian and Libyan migrants. The resulting report and interactive website designed by MIT’s Civic Design Lab illustrate the migrant journey and associated risks as migrants make their way from West Africa to the Maghreb and, for some, on to Europe.

This virtual seminar will present study results and the website, with discussion by researchers from IFPRI, WFP, and MIT as well as other experts.