(Ecofin Agency) - The European Union says it will grant €147.7 million to fight human trafficking and protect vulnerable people in North Africa. The fund will be made available via the North African Window of the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. It includes 4 disbursements that will go for 4 different projects.

€101.7 million will be used to support Morocco in its fight against human trafficking and irregular migration, with a focus on raising awareness among young people of the risks associated with attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea. €17 million will be used to support vulnerable communities and children in Libya through the German Development Agency (GIZ) and UNICEF, while €24 million will help migrants in the country to return to their homeland and implement protection measures, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.

Finally, €5 million will be disbursed to promote economic opportunities and develop labor migration in North Africa. According to the European Commission, the program will continue to promote regional entrepreneurship, the governance of labor migration and the expansion of labor mobility opportunities.

As a reminder, the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, established in November 2015 with a general budget of €4.6 billion, aims to address the root causes of forced and irregular migration, in a context of increasing vulnerability of migrants and displaced persons due to the Libyan conflict.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou