Refugee Board needs deeper resourcing as displacement from Sahel region increases

The Ghana Refugee Board requires increased investment in infrastructure and personnel to meet rising demand from people fleeing conflict, advocacy groups have said.

Mercy Kusiwaa Frimpong, Strategy Custodian for Communications at Amahoro Coalition, said the Board is the first point of contact for refugees entering Ghana but lacks capacity to provide adequate reception and integration support.

“The Ghana Refugee Board is the first point of call to people who have experienced displacement. Anybody who comes to this country as a result of conflict or running away from their own country, the first place that they go to is the Refugee Board,” Mrs. Frimpong said during a media roundtable presenting findings from a 15-country study on refugee employment barriers across Africa.

This study was conducted by the Refugee-Led Research Hub at the University of Oxford in partnership with Amahoro Coalition.

Beyond initial reception, the Board is mandated to support economic integration: including coordinating with the National Identification Authority to secure Ghana Cards for refugees, documentation required to access banking, employment and basic services.

However, current facilities are strained. Mrs. Frimpong said limited office space, reception infrastructure and staffing undermine the Board’s expanding responsibilities.

The pressure has intensified with growing displacement from the Sahel. More than 15,000 Burkinabe asylum seekers crossed into the Upper East and Upper West Regions from February 2023, fleeing conflict in Burkina Faso. By November 2024 about 11,676 were still awaiting registration, prompting the establishment of emergency reception centres at Tarikom and Zini.

Currently, Ghana hosts roughly 12,200 registered refugees and asylum seekers – most of them in urban areas, particularly Accra, and the Burkinabe influx has resulted in significant increased demand for Board services.

Mrs. Frimpong said expanding reception facilities will reflect Ghana’s national values and international standing.

“We pride ourselves on being welcoming. That attitude should be reflected in the conditions refugees experience during their first months here,” she said.

She also called for dedicated mental health services, noting that many refugees arrive with severe trauma which current systems do not adequately address.

She argued that psychologists and therapists should be embedded within the Board’s operations to support new arrivals during their initial years in Ghana.

Capacity gaps have economic consequences. Amahoro Coalition’s Pathways to Employment report found that documentation delays and administrative bottlenecks prevent qualified refugees from accessing formal work, despite having the legal right to do so – leading to a loss of valuable human resources.

While refugees are often hosted in regions with minimal resources, as countries with only 0.3 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) host 20 percent of the world’s refugees as of mid-2025, their presence often creates a ‘multiplier effect’.

Studies – including the Brookings Institution’s Macroeconomic Implications of Immigration Flows – show that in Kenya refugee integration and freedom of movement increased host economy per capita income by 6 percent, while in Uganda they boosted the Gross Regional Product of hosting districts by roughly 3.4 percent.

Across Africa, every US$1 of aid provided to refugees can generate up to US$2 in additional local income through trade and consumption. Furthermore, in countries like South Africa immigrants (including refugees) contribute approximately 9 percent of national GDP – a share higher than their percentage of the population, according to OECD/ILO’s International Migration Outlook and Impact.

The Board plays a central role in issuing work permits and facilitating Ghana Card registration. Weak systems or understaffing can delay documentation, effectively blocking access to employment, banking, social security and even SIM card registration, the Coalition noted.

“Without the Ghana Card you cannot really integrate. One cannot get SSNIT, a bank account, or in some cases even a SIM card – and this leaves people outside the formal systems and raises frustrations,” she noted.

While advocacy for increased funding comes amid tight fiscal conditions, including high unemployment and public sector hiring freezes, supporters argue that early investment in reception, mental health care and documentation reduces long-term costs by enabling faster economic integration.

The Ghana Refugee Board operates under the Refugee Act of 1992, which mandates it to provide adequate facilities and services for refugee reception and support access to employment and education.

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