United States of America tops in diaspora remittances with Kshs 188.8 billion followed by United Kingdom with Kshs 25.4 billion, according to data released by Central Bank of Kenya.
Saudi Arabia is the third largest source of Diaspora remittances with Kshs 22.7 billion. This comes on the backdrop of rising cases of abuse of migrant workers in the gulf nation.
According to World Bank, 22.5 percent of Kenyan migrant workers reside in US, followed by the UK with 7.3 percent of all migrant workers and 5.6 percent residing in the United Arabs Emirates
Similarly, a report by International Organisation for Migration (IOM), shows that Kenya is among the top three countries receiving the most international remittances across sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and Ghana.
In 2022, Kenya received USD 3.7 billion total remittances from diaspora while Nigeria and Ghana received USD 17 billion and USD 4.5 billion respectively.
The report indicates that labour migration to the gulf countries is predominantly low-skilled as migrant workers are primarily employed in the construction sector and domestic work industry.
Read:Diaspora Remittances Increased By 16.5% In March
Migration from Africa is majorly prompted by wide income inequalities, poverty and unemployment.
According to IOM, most of the migration to the Middle East is not regulated, hence migrant workers are highly vulnerable to exploitative practices.
IOM regional director of East and Horn of Africa Mohamed Abdiker said establishing common migration policies among the member states in East and Horn of Africa would ease negotiations for the terms and rights of migrant workers through the Bilateral Labour Agreements (BLAs).
He noted that the integration would also support gender challenges faced by women migrants noting that more women are migrating to other countries for greener pastures.
“Many years ago in the African traditions, it was the men who were going out to look for greener pastures but that is no longer the case. We are seeing a 35 percent increase in the number of women on the move,” said the regional director.
East and Horn of Africa is regarded as highly dynamic on the move with political instability, climate shocks and economic disparities pushing millions of people into displacement or migrating to other countries in search of greener pastures.
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