Accra, Jan. 28, GNA – The German Development Agency (GIZ) is implementing holistic support for experts trained in Germany to return to Ghana on long or short term as Returning and Diaspora Experts to work in relevant sectors.
The support, implemented on behalf of the German Government, includes the topping up of salaries of returning experts and giving allowances for diaspora experts to enable them to support the growth of their native countries with skills and knowledge.
The returning experts are migrants who travelled to enhance their knowledge and skills in Germany in varied development-oriented fields and returned to their home countries to utilize the skills for the good of their countries.
The diaspora experts, on the other hand, are trained experts with a migration background who wish to support their country of origin by putting their expertise to good use as volunteers.
They usually pass on knowledge and skills through short-term assignments with development projects involving local organisations.
Mrs Abena Owusua Amponsah-Bio, the PMD Ghana Senior National Coordinator, said migration was a global reality with a variety of different manifestations, opportunities and challenges.
She said this at a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue & Training Offers Meeting in Accra for the GIZ to introduce its key offers in Migration Governance Component of the GIZ Programme Migration & Diaspora (PMD) to stakeholders to enhance the relationship with them.
She said the organised event focused on the ‘Migration Governance’ component where the GIZ-Ghana supported stakeholders with capacity building or training programmes, policy advice, peer-to-peer exchanges related to migration policy.
The GIZ’s PMD is present in 22 countries – Ghana, Albania, Cameroon, Colombia, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Serbia, Ukraine, Tunisia, Senegal, Peru, Palestinian territories, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Nepal, Kosovo, Georgia, Ethiopia, and Ecuador.
Mrs Amponsah-Bio noted that the GIZ believed the potentials of the diaspora should be harnessed to improve the socio-economic conditions of partner countries.
Mr Prince Oppong Kwarteng, the PMD Technical Advisor, said according to the United Nations, there were about 272 million migrants in 2019 out of which 48 per cent were women, 14 per cent below 20 years old, and 39 per cent median age.
He said under the Migration Governance Component of PMD, Integrated Experts, their EU citizens who are specialists in a given field, were supported to offer their skills and expertise within state and non-state migration-related institutions.
Migration and its effects could affect other countries, he said, explaining that it was, therefore, important to promote equality and ensure safe regular migration through safe and well-managed policies.
GNA