IOM, through the ACP EU Migration Action, an initiative launched by the ACP Secretariat and funded by the European Union (EU), issued a publication on the main challenges that ACP countries face today in relation to remittances.

Remittances that migrants send home play an important role in boosting the home country’s development as they are a steady, reliable source of investment that helps millions of individuals and households to raise living standards, improve health and education, provide capital for entrepreneurial pursuits and, in many instances, can foster financial inclusion. This is especially true for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, which present some of the highest remittance dependency ratios in the world. Despite multiple efforts and international commitments, challenges still remain. Costs of sending remittances are high, and there are many obstacles to access affordable formal remittance channels.

The publication entitled “remittances in ACP Countries: Key Challenges and Ways Forward” provides nine possible ways forward to tackle these difficulties.