Management Response

Recommendation:	To ensure relevance of the project interventions, conduct the prioritization of needs and capacity assessments of the national stakeholders at the design and conceptualization stages of the programme rather than at the implementation stage.
Management Response:

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments CONDUCT AN INITIAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT WITH POTENTIAL TARGET COUNTRIES TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE PHASES OF THE MAKING MIGRATION SAFE PROGRAMME. Economic Empowerment/Regional Offices 2025/03 Not Initiated For any subsequent phases of the programme, an initial needs assessment will be conducted to identify possible target countries. INVOLVE TARGET COUNTRIES IN PROGRAMME DESIGN AND PROJECT DOCUMENT DEVELOPMENT. Economic Empowerment/Country Offices 2025/03 Not Initiated Once programme countries are identified, consultations will be made with national stakeholders to design and develop programme activities to ensure there is alignment with national priorities, as laid out in the Strategic Note. CONDUCT IN-COUNTRY NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO REFINE PROGRAMME INTERVENTIONS. Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/03 Not Initiated

Recommendation:

In Niger, the lack of local capacity of CSOs and government staff coupled with a general lack of interest in the programme severely jeopardized progress on national level outcomes. To avoid similar risks in the future, it is strongly recommended for the MMS programme to engage national stakeholders (government, civil society, migrant women) starting from the design process, and include the work on migration in Strategic Note, developed together with National Government. This will not only help in timely identification of potential risks and challenges, but also create a sense of ownership among key partners from the very onset.

Management Response:

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments ENGAGE WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS (GOVERNMENT, UN, CSO) AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL DURING THE IN-COUNTRY NEEDS ASSESSMENT. Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/03 Not Initiated As above ENSURE THAT THE RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE IN-COUNTRY NEEDS ASSESSMENT ARE REFLECTED IN THE FINAL PROJECT DOCUMENT TO ENSURE THAT ALL INTERVENTIONS ARE SUITED TO THE REALITIES ON THE GROUND. Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/03 Not Initiated As above

Recommendation:

While many migrant women face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination requiring support at different levels, the MMS programme is likely to generate a higher impact if it consolidates efforts on some of the key gender-responsive migration issues at the national and global levels. For instance, as women and girls make up the majority of migrants in the East and Horn of Africa, in addition to other entry points, UN Women can effectively use this opportunity to improve the labour migration outcome for these migrants, while at the same time contributing to the overall economic empowerment of women in the region. As an example, by leveraging its position in gender-responsive migration, UN Women can engage in platforms such as the Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration for East and Horn of Africa, which is an ISCM bringing together 11 States from East and Horn of Africa Region to jointly address labour migration policies, foster labour mobility and protect the fundamental human, labour, and social rights of migrant workers migrating within the continent and from Africa to EU, GCC Member States and other countries.

Management Response:

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments CREATE SYNERGIES BETWEEN THE WORK BEING CARRIED OUT GLOBALLY AND THE WORK BEING CARRIED OUT NATIONALLY AS PART OF THE MMS PROGRAMME. Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/12 Initiated The second phase of MMS integrates an important feedback loop to ensure that the work at the national level feeds into the policy work at the global level and vice versa. The results of the project also feed into UN Women's engagement with the UN Network on Migration (globally, regionally and nationally) to help create synergies and strengthen our interagency work on migration. PARTICIPATE IN REGIONAL FORUMS AND OTHER REGIONAL MIGRATION PROCESSES TO HELP STRENGTHEN THE NEXUS BETWEEN UN WOMEN’S MIGRATION POLICY WORK AT THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL LEVEL. Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/12 Initiated UN Women participated in several global convenings (International Migration Review Forum, UN Network on Migration Annual Meeting, Global Forum on Migration and Development) and regional convenings including the regional symposium in the Asia Pacific. In 2024 the UN Network on Migration will be holding Regional Reviews to monitor progress on the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration. The MMS team will participate in the Africa Regional Review. SHARE RESULTS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE WORK AT NATIONAL LEVEL IN GLOBAL PROCESSES ON MIGRATION Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/12 Initiated The results and lessons learned from phase one were shared as part of our participation at the 2024 Global Forum on Migration and Development as well as other events and webinars. STRENGTHEN THE FOCUS ON LABOUR MIGRATION IN ANY FUTURE PHASES OF THE MAKING MIGRATION SAFE PROGRAMME Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/12 Initiated A dedicated outcome on labour migration has been integrated in phase 2 of the programme, as well as a specific focus on women migrant worker returnees in Ethiopia.

Recommendation:	Consider complementary measures aimed at improving the overall wellbeing of the migrant beneficiaries, especially those in the most vulnerable situations. Suggested interventions can include livelihood support, social protection, and legal support etc. This can be achieved by enhancing cooperation with other UN agencies while creating synergies for improved outcomes for migrant women.
Management Response:

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments STRENGTHEN PROGRAMME DESIGN TO INCLUDE DELIVERY OF DIRECT SERVICE PROVISION TO MIGRANT WOMEN AND/OR RETURNEES, INCLUDING SURVIVORS OF GBV Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/12 Initiated The second phase of MMS includes direct service provision to migrant returnees, including those who faced GBV in Ethiopia, delivered by implementing partners. This includes access to services (temporary accommodation, psychosocial counselling, family reintegration support, etc.) and economic empowerment initiatives, including start-up capital for migrant women returnees who are survivors of violence to establish their own small businesses. IDENTIFY IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS (CIVIL SOCIETY/UN AGENCIES) TO SUPPORT ACTIVITIES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL Country Office 2025/12 Initiated

Recommendation:

All upcoming phases of the MMS programme-framework to be designed on the principles of SMART Results-based management and developed in consultation with the country office M&E staff, who can provide valuable input in terms of designing a robust framework that responds to the local context. This will not only allow the programme staff to identify quality indicators, but also effectively measure progress at each milestone.

Management Response:

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments WORK WITH SPU TO SUPPORT THE DESIGN OF EFFECTIVE INDICATORS IN LINE WITH SMART RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT Economic Empowerment/Country Office/SPU 2022/12 Completed Building on the lessons learned from phase one, the MMS programme team worked closely with SPU colleagues to strengthen indicators. These were further refined during the first meeting of the Programme Steering Committee before being validated by the members. DEVELOP A MONITORING FRAMEWORK, IN CONSULTATION WITH M&E COLLEAGUES, TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE QUARTERLY MONITORING AND REPORTING OF ACTIVITIES Economic Empowerment 2023/12 Completed A monitoring framework was established to support the effective implementation of phase 2. MONITOR ACTIVITIES ON A QUARTERLY BASIS TO ENSURE EFFECTIVENESS AND MAKE ANY NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH LOGFRAME. Economic Empowerment/Country Office 2025/12 Initiated A quarterly monitoring plan was put in place to capture results on a rolling basis and ensure that the programme remains on track to meet its annual targets.