Atlantic Migration Crisis Deepens, 12,816 Risk Deadly Route, As Women and Children Join Surge
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
The West African migration crisis is taking a more dangerous turn as thousands of people, including a growing number of women and children, risk their lives on the Atlantic Route in search of economic opportunities.
At the ongoing ECOWAS Parliament summit on irregular migration, Madam Jorr Jobe of the IOM Gambia Office disclosed that 12,816 migrants were recorded along the West African Atlantic Route between March 2025 and April 2026.
Gambians accounted for 70 per cent of passengers, while Senegalese, Malians, Nigerians and other West African nationals also used the route. Men made up 88 per cent of migrants, women eight per cent and children four per cent.
Jobe warned that overcrowded and unsafe boats continue to expose migrants to shipwrecks, disappearances, exploitation, extortion and family separation.
She also raised concern over the increasing number of women and children attempting the journey, as smugglers shift operations to remote coastal communities to evade security agencies.
Earlier, Head of Gambia Delegation and 4th Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Billay G Tunkara, said the essence of the programme was to get first hand information on the rate of irregular migration in the region.
This information he says will assist the parliament in its policy formulation while the Director of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Kabeer, was full of praises for the parliamentarians saying they can do a lot to change the narrative.
Economic hardship remains a major driver, with 65 per cent of migrants surveyed in 2025 citing employment and other economic reasons for travelling.
Follow the Savinews Africa channel on WhatsApp:https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VawgaEL5vKA9Y5XTFg0n