Using remittances to boost household resilience in Senegal and The Gambia

Alagie Jinkang, University of Bologna

Remittances, defined as the portion of wages that migrant workers send home, are faced with several obstacles in the maximisation of their full potential in both Senegal and The Gambia (SeneGambia) as well as in Europe. In SeneGambia, remittance utilisation is hindered by negative economic conditions such as extreme poverty, corruption, inflation, poor infrastructure, technological underdevelopment and family mismanagement. In Europe too, remittances are highly taxed, face administrative hurdles and the irregular and exploitative conditions that most SeneGambian migrants live and work under lower the flow, amount and potential of remittances being sent to millions of households abroad.

This brief is based on a case study on the relationship between SeneGambian remittances and the “back way” (irregular migration) to Europe, coupled with insights from the PERCEPTIONS findings with migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa. It outlines evidenced-based and context specific recommendations to boost the potential of remittances and household resilience in order to discourage irregular migration inspired by remittances.