The Management Committee of the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), University of Ghana, held its second meeting of 2026 on 14 October 2026. The meeting reviewed the work of the Centre over the year and preparations for the climax of its 20th anniversary celebrations in November.
Members present included Mr. Samuel Basintale Amadu, Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service, Prof. Charlotte Nana Wrigley-Asante, Professor of Gender and Development Geography at the Department of Geography and Resource Development, Dr. Chika C. Mba of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), Prof. Abu Mumuni, Director of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), and Prof. Shamsu-Deen Ziblim of the Ghana National Research Fund.
Also present were Prof. Leander Kandilige, Professor of Migration and Development and Senior Researcher, Dr. Johnson Wilson Appiah Kubi, Programme Coordinator, and Dr. Sarah Nyarko, faculty member.
Prof. Mary Boatemaa Setrana, Director of CMS and IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa, updated the Committee on the activities of the Centre from January to October 2026. Her report touched on teaching and student progress, staff development, partnerships, research and policy engagement.
The Centre graduated 27 students across the February and July 2026 congregations, made up of 18 MA, four MPhil and five PhD graduates. It also organised 18 mock viva sessions to prepare doctoral candidates for their thesis defence. Prof. Setrana was promoted to Full Professor in Migration and Social Change, and Prof. Kandilige to Full Professor of Migration and Development. Dr. Sarah Nyarko, an alumna of the Centre, joined the faculty. Prof. Joseph Mensah of York University, Canada, will serve as Visiting Scholar for the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 academic years.
The Director also reported on partnerships with Metropolis International, CODESRIA, the European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations, the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies and the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at the University of Oxford.
On policy engagement, she noted the support of CMS for the Community Engagement and Policing Strategy of the Ghana Immigration Service, developed with the International Organization for Migration. CMS will also lead the review of the National Migration Policy.
Prof. Setrana briefed the Committee on the Metropolis International Migration Network Conference, which CMS will co-host with the African Union Commission and Metropolis International from 18 - 20 November 2026 at the Cedi Conference Centre. It is the first time the conference will be held in Africa, and more than 250 participants from 51 countries had registered as at the time of the meeting.
Prof. Kandilige also briefed the Committee on the Health and Migration Sensitisation Walk from Ayi-Mensah Toll Booth to Aburi on 14 November. He also spoke on the exhibition of CMS academic outputs to be mounted during the conference, which will feature dissertations, theses, publications and national migration policies the Centre has contributed to. The anniversary will close with an Awards and Dinner Night on 21 November and a Thanksgiving Service on 22 November.
The Committee also discussed matters on moving the Centre forward, including new partnerships, fundraising for the proposed Migration Complex to house the Centre, student recruitment and a planned executive short course in migration governance and policy.
CMS is a regional hub for interdisciplinary research, training and policy development in migration studies. It brings together experts from various academic backgrounds to address the many dimensions of migration across Africa.
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