UNHCR and IOM Launch New Digital Dashboard to Track Refugee Protection Services Along Migration Routes

The initiative comes amid growing international concern over rising deaths, human trafficking, exploitation and humanitarian crises along irregular migration routes connecting the Sahel and West Africa to Europe.

The United Nations refugee and migration agencies have unveiled a major new digital platform designed to map life-saving protection and assistance services for refugees and migrants travelling along some of the world's most dangerous migration corridors, beginning with the increasingly deadly Western Africa Atlantic Route.

The online dashboard, launched jointly by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and global humanitarian NGO network ICVA, aims to provide governments, aid agencies and frontline organizations with real-time visibility into where critical support services exist — and where dangerous protection gaps remain.

The initiative comes amid growing international concern over rising deaths, human trafficking, exploitation and humanitarian crises along irregular migration routes connecting the Sahel and West Africa to Europe.

Digital Mapping Tool Designed to Improve Humanitarian Coordination

The newly launched dashboard provides a cross-border overview of protection and assistance services available to refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants moving along the Western Africa Atlantic Route, one of the world's fastest-growing mixed migration corridors.

The platform maps services including:

• Emergency shelter

• Health care

• Legal assistance

• Child protection

• Gender-based violence support

• Anti-trafficking services

• Identification and registration support

• Humanitarian referrals

Officials say the tool is intended to strengthen humanitarian coordination, improve referral systems, support evidence-based planning and help direct limited resources toward areas with the most urgent unmet needs.

The dashboard will also help humanitarian agencies identify underserved areas where refugees and migrants currently lack access to basic safety and protection services.

The long-term plan is to gradually expand the platform to cover other major global mixed migration routes.

Western Africa Atlantic Route Among World's Most Dangerous

The launch highlights mounting international alarm over the Western Africa Atlantic Route, which stretches from inland Sahelian regions through border zones, mining hubs and coastal departure points toward Spain's Canary Islands.

The route has become increasingly active in recent years as tighter border controls and instability across North Africa have pushed more migrants toward Atlantic sea crossings.

UN agencies warn that people travelling along the route face severe dangers, including:

• Violence and abuse

• Human trafficking

• Exploitation by smuggling networks

• Arbitrary detention

• Forced expulsions

• Dangerous desert crossings

• Fatal sea journeys

The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands is now considered one of the deadliest migration pathways globally due to overcrowded boats, unpredictable weather conditions and limited rescue capacity.

Humanitarian organizations say many people using the route are fleeing conflict, persecution, poverty, food insecurity and climate-related crises across the Sahel and West Africa.

Humanitarian Agencies Call for Better Cross-Border Coordination

UNHCR and IOM officials say the dashboard represents a major shift toward route-based humanitarian coordination rather than isolated country-by-country responses.

"Refugees and migrants face serious risks along these routes," said Elizabeth Tan, Director of UNHCR's Division of International Protection and Solutions.

"This dashboard is a major step forward, bringing partners — including refugee-led organizations — together to clearly show where help exists and where it is missing."

Tan warned, however, that major funding and protection gaps remain.

"Much more support from governments and donors is needed to close the gaps and ensure people can access protection and assistance where they are, without putting their lives at further risk by moving onwards," she said.

IOM officials stressed that migration challenges cannot be addressed effectively through isolated national responses.

"Effective responses to irregular migration require coordination across the full length of a route, not just at individual points along it," said Vincent Houver, Director of IOM's Department of Mobility Pathways and Inclusion.

"This dashboard gives operational actors a clearer picture of available services and critical gaps along mixed movement routes, helping support more coordinated, evidence-based responses across borders."

Local NGOs and Refugee-Led Groups Seen as Critical Frontline Providers

Humanitarian leaders also used the launch to highlight the essential role played by local NGOs, community groups and refugee-led organizations — many of which operate with limited funding and difficult access conditions.

Davina Said, Head of Forced Displacement at ICVA, said frontline organizations are often the primary providers of direct assistance to vulnerable people on the move.

"This dashboard highlights the lifeline that local NGOs and community-based organizations provide, including refugee- and migrant-led organizations, often with very limited resources," she said.

She urged international donors to provide more direct financial support to local humanitarian actors.

"We urge donors to resource directly these frontline organizations so that people on the move can access protection and assistance wherever they are."

Mapping Reveals Serious Protection Gaps

The dashboard's initial findings reveal that although significant humanitarian efforts exist along the route, services remain unevenly distributed and heavily concentrated in major urban centres.

Key hubs such as:

• Nouakchott (Mauritania)

• Nouadhibou (Mauritania)

• Agadez (Niger)

• Niamey (Niger)

currently provide a range of support services, including healthcare, legal aid, shelter and identification assistance.

However, large gaps persist in many border areas, transit corridors and smaller towns where migrants and refugees are also present.

Specialized services remain particularly limited in many locations, including:

• Child protection support

• Gender-based violence response

• Legal aid

• Anti-trafficking assistance

• Long-term integration and recovery services

The report also notes that emergency responses to shipwrecks, expulsions and disembarkations are often stronger than longer-term protection systems needed to help people rebuild their lives.

Insecurity and Funding Shortfalls Undermining Humanitarian Operations

Aid agencies warn that insecurity across parts of the Sahel and restricted humanitarian access continue to complicate service delivery along the route.

Several humanitarian actors have reportedly been forced to reduce or suspend programmes due to severe funding shortages, increasing pressure on already overstretched local support systems.

UN agencies say stronger international investment is urgently needed to support:

• Evidence-based migration planning

• Protection systems

• Humanitarian access

• Safe migration pathways

• Community stabilization programmes

• Long-term solutions for displaced populations

The organizations behind the dashboard say the platform is ultimately designed to reduce harm, save lives and help vulnerable people access safety and assistance earlier — before they become trapped in increasingly dangerous migration journeys.

As irregular migration pressures continue rising globally, humanitarian agencies hope the initiative will become a critical tool for improving international coordination and strengthening protection systems for some of the world's most vulnerable populations.