EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

Over 12,4 million people in Ethiopia have tuned into a special radio show focusing on migration, highlighting the level of interest in an issue that affects many in the country.

Ethiopian nationals account for the largest movements of people in the East and Horn of Africa, with the Eastern Route to the Arabian Peninsula – especially to Saudi Arabia –  being among the busiest migrant crossings in the world.

The radio show is designed in a magazine format centred on migration-related subjects, including migrants’ living conditions in foreign countries, as well as the support available to returnees looking to starting afresh back in Ethiopia.

It comes at a time when thousands of Ethiopians have been returning to their communities of origin due to travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Large numbers of Ethiopian migrants are also facing forced repatriation, primarily from Saudi Arabia. Between January and July 2021, more than 62,000 Ethiopians returned.

The radio show was launched in April 2021, and is the result of a partnership between the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration (‘the EU-IOM Joint Initiative’) and Fana Radio, which is owned by one of Ethiopia’s largest radio companies, Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC).

The listenership figures were compiled by Fana Radio and cover five broadcasts in the first three months of the show, from May to July.

The programme is due to run for a total of eight months, until January 2022. It is broadcast across the country once every two weeks in several languages, including Amharic, Afan Oromo, Sidama and Wolaita.

Ketema Hailu, the deputy head of research at FBC, said: “The radio station primarily focuses on societal issues.” Commenting on the listenership figures, he said: “We have the number on listenership and transmit radio programmes across all the regions in their respective languages. This gives us a pivotal role to make this radio programme relevant to audiences.”

The show is broadcast at different times, both during the week and on weekends. The same format is used, with a special guest discussing relevant migration issues, with listeners being invited to call in.

Among those who have listened and taken part in the show is Tigist, a returnee from Saudi Arabia, who said: “Most irregular migrants are from rural Ethiopia and don’t have adequate information about their journey ahead. They are also not aware of the regular migration options. This radio programme is very relevant in communicating such information, for returnees to make a knowledgeable decision.”

So far, the issues highlighted during the radio show have encompassed the role of Ethiopia’s regional states in minimizing irregular migration, the potential of regular migration in meeting the needs of potential migrants, as well as job creation initiatives for returnees.

Special guests who have appeared on the programme include the Director of public relations and foreign relations at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Mr. Dereje Taye, the Head of the legal aid department at the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, Ms. Hanna Hailemelekot, and ️Ms. Alemtsehay Taye, the Director of new business opportunities and projects at the Federal Urban Job Creation and Food Security Agency, a government department providing reintegration assistance to vulnerable returnees.

About the EU-IOM Joint Initiative 

Launched in December 2016 with the support of the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), the programme brings together 26 African countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa, along with the European Union (EU) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around the goal of ensuring that migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities. 

For more information please contact: Wilson Johwa, email: wjohwa@iom.int at Regional Office or Helina Mengistu in Addis Ababa, email: hmengistu@iom.int