Main area: Migration
Theme: Addressing irregular migration – border management
Assessment: ODA-eligible
Provider country: Switzerland
Recipient country: Nigeria
Implementing agency: Women Aid Collective (WACOL)
Budget (EUR million): 0.175 (of which Switzerland contributed 0.14)
Year(s): 2020-2022
Purpose code: 15190
Case number: Migration / 5
Women Aid Collective (WACOL): upscaling community action to combat human trafficking in Edo and Delta States of Nigeria (Phase II)
Nigeria is strongly affected by trafficking in persons (TIP) as a source, destination and transit country. Edo State in particular is the epicentre of the phenomenon, with at least 80% of the trafficked persons, who end up in Europe, originating from there. Delta State, its direct neighbour, is increasingly affected by TIP as well, although having received less attention from authorities and the donor community. TIP, being a major cause of migration-induced human insecurity, affects the lives of migrants in drastic ways and contributes to state fragility by undermining both government authority and capabilities. From a human security perspective, the fight against TIP hence constitutes a key area of intervention. In the context of the Swiss-Nigerian Migration Partnership, this project is the second phase of an on-going co-operation with the Nigerian NGO Women Aid Collective that intends to strengthen prevention capacities at community level in Edo and Delta States.
Overall objective: preventing TIP and reducing unsafe migration in and from Nigeria’s most affected communities in Delta and Edo States through capacity building, community participation, education and early warning systems.
Examples of activities: advocacy and engagement with influential community gatekeepers such as selected traditional and religious leaders; sensitization and awareness creation for law enforcement agencies and teachers; anti-trafficking outreaches in schools and town hall meetings; establishment of early warning systems; identification and protection of victims of trafficking; public sensitization through radio and TV media; production of information, education and communication materials, including bill board erection; establishment of three Migrant Information Centers (MIC) and survivor forums to facilitate psychosocial support for and network meetings among survivors of trafficking; and production of policy briefs on the effective implementation of national and state laws relevant to the prevention of trafficking.
An independent evaluation report was conducted in 2022 and found that the activities of phase I and II led to a reduction in unsafe migration and a decrease in human trafficking in the targeted communities through increased risk awareness and strengthened community action. Based on the results, a third phase will include a geographical extension to Anambra State, a digital extension that will engage young Nigerians and social media influencers as ambassadors in the digital space, and continued policy work with key policymakers along with support to the National Action Plan on Human Trafficking in Nigeria 2022-2026, which was developed with Swiss support.
This activity is deemed ODA-eligible. There are mutual benefits resulting from the Swiss-Nigerian Migration Partnership but the development focus appears as fundamental in the design and expected results of the activity (see Criterion 3) and hence comes before any other goals, as required in Principle 3 (Switzerland confirmed that the activity would have been undertaken also outside the context of a partnership). Further, the activity’s emphasis is on advancing human security and preventing trafficking in human beings as well as on protecting and supporting victims, activities aligned with the ODA-eligible types of activities listed in Criterion 4.
This work was approved and declassified by the Development Assistance Committee’s Working Party on Development Finance Statistics.
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