Head of UN migration agency says it has secured billions in new funding

The United Nations International Organization for Migration on Thursday said it has secured billions in new funding and diversified its donor base.

This follows a push to increase financial support to bolster its efforts to protect migrants, reduce displacement, and expand avenues to migrate legally.

Its support comes from sources as diverse as development banks and tech giant, Microsoft.

However, the agency’s head, Amy Pope, said that elections worldwide are raising questions about future support.

“The good news is that we're not in dire straits financially. We are doing better than ever when it comes to bringing in financial resources to do the work that we're doing,” she said.

A former migration adviser to US President, Joe Biden, Pope said she is not doing the bidding of any government.

Instead, she is focused on addressing migration in all its complexities, rather than narrowing it down to one part of a migrant’s journey.

"Focusing on one piece of the problem, focusing just on the border, means that you're failing to address all the other pieces that drive people to move,” she said.

“I think that's a huge strategic mistake for governments that plays into some of the politics that we're seeing, leading to very, very negative consequences."

At a time when right-wing political movements in some Western countries have criticised migrants, Pope has repeatedly talked up the benefits of migration.

“The private sector actually benefits when migration is well managed. That's what I hear wherever I go in the world," she said.

Pope warned that many migrants risk and lose their lives on perilous journeys. IOM data showed that 2023 was the deadliest in the last decade.

Some 8,541 deaths were recorded, in  part due to a sharp increase in fatalities in the Mediterranean.

As more migrants leave their homes in search of a better life, illegal immigration and asylum have become contentious political issues in Europe, the United States, and other nations.