Combatting Irregular Migration through Rural Awareness Campaigns: The Case of Edo State, Nigeria

International migration is undergoing unprecedented changes. The traditional determinants of migration such as poverty, food insecurity and climate change are giving way to new motivations such as the desire to live a foreign lifestyle. Recently, incomplete and asymmetric information spread through social media platforms has increasingly led migrants to underestimate the risk of irregular migration. Drawing from the study conducted in Italy and Nigeria, this policy brief demonstrates that awareness campaigns could become a veritable means for improving knowledge for safe migration decisions. Safe migration campaign should be conducted in rural areas of home countries targeting the most vulnerable groups, – school-age, youths with lower economic statuses, who have no previous migration experience.