West and Central Africa — COVID-19 — Regional Flow Monitoring Report (January — March 2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected mobility in West and Central Africa in the form of various travel disruptions, restrictions and bans, which often leave migrants stranded. This report provides key information on the magnitude and types of changes to mobility observed in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. The Flow Monitoring Registry (FMR) is a tool of IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) which records movements crossing areas of high density mobility (areas of departure, transit and destination). FMR gathers data on the numbers, profiles of travellers crossing these strategic transit points. To better understand the ways and the extent to which the COVID-19 crisis is impacting mobility in the region, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been working to analyse Flow Monitoring data collected at 35 key transit points in West and Central Africa between January to March 2020 (using 2018 and 2019 data as barometers of comparison).