Nigeria -The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and IOM  are launching the Non-State Actors (NSA) Fund call for proposals at the ECOWAS Commission Secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria, today (30 June 2015).

The NSA Fund is a component of the project “Support to Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa” (FMM West Africa), which aims at maximizing the development potential of free movement of persons and migration in West Africa. To this end, it supports migration data management, border management, labor migration and combating trafficking in persons in West Africa.

Within the FMM project, the NSA Fund aims to promote the active engagement of non-state actors and local authorities in information and protection activities for the benefit of migrants and cross-border populations in West Africa.

“Non-state actors have an important role to play. They facilitate a positive multiplier effect at the local level of the ECOWAS Commission initiatives. Through their concrete projects, they are also the best placed to reach out to migrants and cross-border populations,” said Ahmed Hamid, ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement.

Through the call for proposals, the NSA Fund offers grants of up to EUR 100,000 to civil society organizations and other non-state actors to implement projects in ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania. The key thematic areas of the Call for Proposals include free movement of persons, cross-border cooperation, protection and empowerment of migrants, and the gender and migration dimension.

Interested non-state actors can download the guidelines for applicants and templates to be used for the submission of project proposals on the FMM West Africa Website: www.fmmwestafrica.com

FMM West Africa is funded by the European Union and ECOWAS and implemented by IOM in partnership with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

For further information, please contact Geertrui Lanneau, Support to Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa (FMM West Africa). Tel.: +234 814 0671127, Email: glanneau@iom.int