With conflict, economic hardship and environmental impacts forcing millions of people from their homes, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope said today, during a visit to Copenhagen, that the world needs more countries like Denmark: countries willing to invest early, where people live, before crises push them to move.
Denmark is providing USD 15 million in flexible funding to IOM, building on the unearmarked support it has given since 2023. The funding allows IOM to move quickly to where needs are greatest. Danish support already reaches more than 30 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, helping them respond to crises today and prepare for tomorrow.
"If we want fewer people risking their lives on dangerous journeys, we have to act early, where crises begin," said DG Pope. "From Sudan to Gaza and Yemen, we see what happens when help comes too late. That is why we must reach people sooner, help communities recover and invest in education, health, skills, and livelihoods. No one should have to leave because they ran out of options. The world needs Denmark's leadership on this."
In Copenhagen, DG Pope met the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Immigration and Integration, as well as other senior government officials. They reviewed IOM's long-standing partnership with Denmark and agreed priorities for a renewed strategic framework through 2030. These include managing migration well, using evidence to shape policy and working together along migration routes.
The visit comes days before COP31, where IOM will call for more investment in communities on the front lines of climate change. Denmark is already showing the way. With Danish support, IOM has helped seven African countries, including Ethiopia, Mauritania, Chad, Mozambique and Tunisia, build human mobility into their national climate plans. In Chad, IOM has supported 15 communities, reaching around 1,620 people, including returnees from Sudan. In Mauritania, 8,000 people have benefited from climate adaptation work, while in Djibouti the resilience of 1,100 residents of 11 climate affected localities has been improved through participatory climate-resilient community-based interventions.
Denmark is also helping governments modernize how they manage migration. Through the Denmark-funded CAPACITY Programme, IOM supports digital identity systems in Somalia and Nigeria, and stronger border and document verification capacities in Lebanon and Syria where around 400 officials and partners have been trained. Some 1,000 vulnerable migrants have received protection and assistance in Algeria and Morocco.
Along routes through North Africa, the Middle East and the Western Balkans, Danish funding is helping countries share information and work across borders to tackle migrant smuggling and human trafficking. In 2025, an IOM-supported forum in Algeria brought together 234 government representatives, experts and partners from across the Arab region. Denmark is also an essential contributor to IOM's capacity to produce route-based evidence along key migration corridors to Europe.
DG Pope noted that Europe is home to more than 94 million international migrants and stressed that no country can manage migration on its own.
"Good migration policy is measured by what changes for people, both migrants and the communities that host them," she said. "Investing early is not charity. It is smart policy. It saves lives, it saves money and it gives people a real choice about their future."
