Exploring Migrants' Trust in Humanitarian Organisations

Humanitarian organisations aiming to provide support to migrants in transit on the Central Mediterranean Route face significant challenges accessing potential beneficiaries. As transit migrants are usually focused on continuing their journey to North Africa and Europe, the window of time in which they can access humanitarian services in any given location is often limited. There is also evidence that migrants actively avoid detection, often making them an ‘invisible’ population who may not be willing to access services. Past IMREF research on access has shown that a lack of trust in humanitarian organisations affects migrants’ willingness to seek available assistance. However, evidence on the factors shaping migrants’ trust in humanitarian actors and how organisations can effectively mitigate this access barrier is limited.

This study seeks to inform migration programming in the Sahel by providing an improved understanding of how, when, and why migrants trust humanitarian organisations, and how this affects access to migrants. Findings are based on a desk review of 39 sources, 16 key informant interviews with field workers, and qualitative in- depth phone-based interviews with 90 transit migrants (including 30 women) in Agadez and Gao.