Prospects for refugees and migrants

Creating opportunities as an incentive to stay

Poverty and hunger are often the reasons why people are forced to leave their homes. Restoring soil fertility in a drought-affected region, for example, can take years – but it can be done. This is the case in Ethiopia, where GIZ – on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – has helped to rehabilitate the land so that crops can be grown once more in the fields around Abraha Atsbeha, a 5,000-strong community in the north of the country.

GIZ has also trained local farmers in new crop growing and animal husbandry techniques that are adapted to prolonged periods of drought. The farmers in Abraha Atsbeha are now growing fresh vegetables and fruit all year round and can thus achieve livelihood security. GIZ’s Sustainable Land Management (SLM) programme in Ethiopia has reached more than 190,000 households in all – almost one million people. 

Education and training for the future

Elsewhere, education and training are key tools in creating prospects for the future. In Afghanistan, for example, the number of children in school has risen from just 400,000 in 2003 to almost nine million today. With so many students, however, there is an acute shortage of qualified teachers. GIZ therefore supports the Afghan Ministry of Education, including its teacher training department. There is a particular need for more women teachers. GIZ’s work focuses on training the next generation of teachers in the natural sciences and mathematics and on developing their practical classroom skills. Between 2010 and 2013, more than 45,000 students – over 50 per cent of them women – completed studies at a teacher training college, and more than 100,000 teachers, over 30 per cent of them women, underwent in-service training.

In Kosovo, a lack of employment prospects and development opportunities is one of the reasons why many young people pin their hopes on migration. In order to provide support at the local level, GIZ has recently begun to offer advice on employment and training opportunities in Kosovo itself. Achieving sustainable improvements in the quality of vocational training, with a greater focus on the needs of the economy, is one of GIZ’s key objectives in Kosovo. A further aim is to bring Kosovo into line with European standards, thus enhancing its appeal for investors and increasing labour mobility. GIZ also provides advice for young Kosovars who are interested in legal migration opportunities with a view to studying, training or working in Germany.