About the Safer Migration (SaMi) Programme
The Safer Migration (SaMi) Programme is a bilateral initiative of the governments of Nepal and Switzerland. The programme is implemented in partnership between federal, provincial, and local governments. Helvetas Nepal provides technical assistance on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The programme began in 2011 and has now entered its fourth phase as of November 26, 2024. The overall objective of this phase is to enable relevant Nepali institutions across the three levels of government to improve the situation of migrant workers and their families throughout the migration cycle.
The intended impact is that migrants and their families are better protected by the concerned institutions and benefit from decent work conditions abroad. The Government of Nepal aims to gradually expand the SaMi Programme to all provinces and local governments across the country.
Programme Objective
Enable the relevant Nepali institutions across the three levels of government to improve the situation of migrant workers and their families throughout the migration cycle.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Female and male migrant workers and their families have increased the benefits and mitigated the social implications of migration.
All three levels of government use effective mechanisms for the protection of migrant workers and their families.
The overall objective of SaMi’s nationwide expansion and the continuation of Technical Assistance (TA) until mid2028 is to strengthen the capacity of relevant Nepali institutions across all three tiers of government so they can better support migrant workers and their families throughout the migration cycle. The intention is that, by 2028, these government systems and mechanisms will be continuing to deliver essential migration related services, without the need for external TA support.
As a result of these strengthened systems, the program envisions that migrants and their families will be better protected by the concerned institutions and will benefit from safer and more decent working conditions abroad.
To ensure sustainability, all three levels of government are engaged in cost sharing arrangements to operate migration related services. At the same time, the Helvetas Nepal team—serving as the Programme Support Unit (PSU) at both the federal and provincial levels—provides technical assistance to support implementation and strengthen institutional capacity.
