IDRC Research Chair for Ghana, Mary Setrana Boatemaa, co-authored article titled “Remittances, food insecurity, and coping strategies of West African migrants in Accra, Ghana”.
This study explores the connection between remittances and food security, as well as migrant coping strategies through a survey of 420 West African migrants in Accra. By examining the experiences of this migrant population, we aim to highlight the effect of remittances (both cash and food) and other socioeconomic characteristics on food insecurity scores. Thus, we highlight the vulnerabilities faced by some West African migrants in Accra and identify possible policy intervention and community support. Our study discovers important initial insights on reverse remittances to migrants (i.e. the flow of resources from the origin country to migrants abroad (Mobrand, 2012)), a subject that is limited in migration literature. The situation is compounded by a global pandemic with consequences across all the origin countries of the respondents. Most migrants, regardless of the type of remittance received, are moderate to severely food insecure. We also found that educated and employed migrants have lower food insecurity scores. Many who have stayed for longer periods in Accra are also less food insecure. In fact, the period of stay of migrants is likely to enhance the promotion of social ties with other migrants and citizens of the destination country and could provide a social safety net during crisis periods. However, we observe a statistically significant reduction in food insecurity given the duration of stay applies only to the pre-pandemic era. As expected, household size is associated with high food insecurity during and after the pandemic.