“We’ve had a crisis. We can see where the cracks are even more now than we did before. So it really is about how we fix the situation. How do we build back from what’s broken?” says Stella Opoku-Owusu, deputy director of the African Foundation for Development.

Rebuilding requires that we build up migrants’ resilience by addressing the causes of their vulnerability. Some short-term measures established during the pandemic can become long-term solutions, such as ending detention for all migrants and providing them with healthcare and social protection, regardless of their status.

Our new reality can also inspire new solutions, allowing people to access a dignified life where migration is a choice. “Most of us are working remotely, says Opoku-Owusu. “Is it time to reset – for those jobs that can be delivered remotely – and begin to look at job creation in countries of origin?”