AHMR Volume 7 Number 3 September-December 2021
Published by: Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa
This issue consists of six articles. The first article by Adebayo Makanju and Alex Uriri, entitled “Aging, Resilience, and Migration in the Sudano-Sahelian Ecological Belt in Nigeria”, examines the relationship between environmental changes and non- migration outcomes. Statistical data was used to examine the resilience of older non- immigrant households in geographic areas. e results showed that structural factors such as the environment, economic factors, agricultural practices, etc. a ect the resilience of households and cause more immigrants. The study also found that factors such as social and political factors support environmental non-migration between households. The research concludes that any poor treatment experienced accessing health care can easily be associated with ‘medical xenophobia’. As a result, the study suggests that the government develop effective environmental and socioeconomic policies to reduce environmental change and improve aging people's resilience in the future.
The second article by Jacqueline Nakaiza is entitled “Surviving Human Trafficking: A Case for Strengthening the Escape Routes Adopted by Victims of Trafficking in Uganda”. Data was collected from twenty-six survivors of trafficking on the ways through which they escaped and the factors that supported their escape. The findings revealed that victims of human trafficking escaped by: (a) acquiring the (financial) resources they required to free themselves from the bonds of forced labor; or (b) being referred to organizations that provided the assistance they needed to free themselves from the bonds of forced labor. The study also discovered that information on support for victims of human trafficking is often unavailable, and that victims only found out about it after they had been trapped in a trafficking position for some time. The research found that the scarcity of this information is a crucial element in keeping victims of human trafficking enslaved since it prevents victims from seeking and receiving aid, even when it is available.
The third article is by Ada Adoley Allotey and Leander Kandilige and is entitled “The Conundrum of Birth Tourism and American ‘Jackpot Babies’: Attitudes of Ghanaian Urban Dwellers”. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of a complicated and diverse phenomenon known as ‘birth tourism’ to the United States. This study gives insight into the desire of urban inhabitants in developing countries to have so-called ‘American jackpot babies’. The study concludes that ensuring each country's citizenship operates as an opportunity-enhancing tool, is a viable strategy to addressing global inequality maintained by hierarchical citizenship, which leads to the desire to have an American ‘jackpot kid’.
The fourth article by Mary Muyonga, Alfred Otieno, and George Odipo is titled “Impact of subnational migration flows on population distribution in Kenya”. The goal of this study was to investigate subnational migrant movements and how they affect population redistribution in Kenya. The data confirms a change in migration trends in the country during the last 10 years, as well as the impact on population redistribution. Migrants are concentrated in counties with large, urbanized areas, yet suburbanization is gaining popularity as secondary cities and metropolitan areas entice migrants. According to the findings of the geographical study, migration intensities are clustered in ways that reflect similar intensities in surrounding locations, two hotspots are visible, i.e., high-high hotspots in Nairobi and Vihiga, and low-intensity clustering in Mombasa and neighboring counties. The study concludes that internal migration efficiently contributes to population redistribution; however, the effect is diminishing as more regions become urbanized.
The fifth article by Tekalign Ayalew is entitled “The State, Families and Disappeared Migrants in Ethiopia”. The author has paid special attention to investigating the causes and conditions of missing persons, identifying the challenges and needs of Ethiopian families. According to the findings of this study, despite the presence of national laws and resources dedicated to migration management, as well as the adoption of relevant international human and migrant rights conventions, the domestic legal and policy framework does not directly address the phenomenon of missing migrants and the needs and concerns of their families. The study indicates that multi-dimensional, evidence-based, community-based measures are urgently needed to better support families of the missing migrants in Ethiopia, despite profound financial precarity and weak social protection mechanisms.
The sixth article by Samuel Okun and Stella Shulika is entitled “The Dynamics of Child Trafficking in West Africa”. The article discusses the efforts of West African states to combat the threat of human trafficking across borders. According to the findings of the study, there is still a gap in the domestication of the United Nations Protocol on Human Trafficking by West African states, as the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors Against Organized Crime (WACAP), which is tasked with leveraging the resources of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) member states to combat the menace, lacks the capacity needed to meet the set goal. Furthermore, because the efforts of the various states in the region have been largely reactive and legislative rather than proactive, the study recommends that ECOWAS states take proactive measures such as strengthening regional and national law enforcement institutional capacities and incorporating respect for fundamental human rights of women and children into West African sociocultural philosophies.
In general, the authors have produced sound research outputs that include scientific evidence, empirical work, critical reasoning, policy debates and argumentation as well as competent presentation. I am convinced that the African Human Mobility Review, Volume 7, Number 3, 2021, will be a significant resource for researchers, practitioners, and students.
I’m also pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Daniel Tevera as one of the Editorial team members of the African Human Mobility Review. Professor Tevera is a Human Geographer with a wide range of teaching and research experience in the area of migration studies. He has also published several edited books and over a hundred scholarly papers on migration, urban food security and environmental security. He has actively participated in the Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP) and the African Food Security Urban Network (AFSUN), a research, policy and capacity-building network of Canadian and African universities, NGOs and municipal governance networks. Professor Tevera is a former editor of the Zimbabwe Geographical Journal. I look forward to the continued contributions of Professor Tevera to the African Human Mobility Review.
From the Editorial
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