Universities across Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda have committed to establishing a Regional Labour Migration Knowledge Hub, a collaborative platform designed to link academic research with policy action and strengthen cooperation in migration governance across East and the Horn of Africa. This initiative, supported by the ILO’s Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM) programme, aims to bridge gaps in evidence, harmonize approaches, and amplify the role of higher education institutions in the migration policy ecosystem. Other recent events under the BRMM programme underscore the need of growing recognition that labour migration is central to demographic, economic, and social change in the region. 

By linking universities into this hub, the hope is to institutionalize research and data generation, to ensure that migration policies are grounded in rigorous regional studies, comparative analyses, and shared learning. The Knowledge Hub could act as a repository for migration‐related data, case studies, and best practices; it could support joint research projects, mentoring, and capacity building; and serve as a bridge between academic findings and the decision‐makers shaping bilateral labour agreements, migration laws, and cross‐border governance. In doing so, it complements BRMM’s strategic objectives and promises more sustained, locally owned migration governance in East and Horn of Africa.