IOM works to rebuild borders in Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso

As the first part of its "Coordinated Border Management in Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso" project, representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently completed field visits in Kongokire, Niger; Sona, Mali; and Kantchari, Burkina Faso.

The visits included architects and border police officers and were a first step as the IOM moves toward building and rehabilitating border posts in the three countries -- all of which lack resources to control borders and ensure the safety of their citizens.

"Strengthening hardware capabilities at the borders, contributing to the welfare and safety of cross border populations and migrants and equipping police officers to give them an efficient and healthy work environment are our priorities," IOM Project Coordinator Marina Schramm said.

The project is expected to take a year to complete, with construction on the new posts wrapping up in spring of 2016.