About Ugochi Daniels
Ugochi Daniels is the Deputy Director General for Operations of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a role she took on in September 2021. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and as the UN Resident Coordinator and Designated Official for Security in Iran and Chief of the Humanitarian and Fragile Contexts Branch at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), handling emergencies in over 70 countries. Other positions included working with UNFPA in the Philippines and Nepal.
Prior to her UN tenure she was the Deputy Program Manager for the Africa Youth Alliance. She also worked with USAID in Nigeria and the private sector.
Our conversation started with Ugochi Daniels reflecting on how her personal experiences have influenced her approach to leadership saying,
‘I am a mother of three and it’s interesting how this has shaped my leadership style in terms of what I want for my children is what any mother wants for her children. And it’s just because of circumstances that some of us have opportunities and others do not.’
Throughout her career, Ugochi Daniels has worked in national and regional contexts and our conversation was filled with grassroots examples of the impacts that timely support and empowerment interventions can make.
Reflecting on these experiences, she articulated the profound influence of ‘the power of empathy, the power of seeing people, the power of valuing people, and what that power brings as a leader.’
One of her proudest career moments was when she was working in Nepal with the United Nations Population Fund providing reproductive health services to women and girls in remote areas, offering livelihood activities through micro enterprises. A mother excitedly wanted her daughter to show the school uniform she was able to buy from the income she made in their micro enterprise.
‘This mother had such pride in what she had done for her daughter, and I could immediately connect with that sense of pride. It was the immediate connection. I was so proud of the organisation I was working for and the work that we did led to this moment and that empowerment in action.’
Human connection is central to Ugochi Daniels’ leadership style.
‘I always try to make connections, because yes, you can be smart and yes, you can be eloquent and yes, you can have access to resources, but all that really matters is that you connect and make an impression on people. Whether I’m meeting with a president or with somebody in the village I’ve never met before, I always try to make that connection because once I do, we can engage. We can discuss, we can agree on what we want to do next.’
Recalling one of her most difficult career moments, Ugochi Daniels described an experience in Somalia during a United Nations response to massive displacements caused by floods. Visiting an informal site as part of the Emergency Directors Group to assess the effectiveness of the response, she asked about the usual aspects of the situation and aid received. However, it was her inquiry about women’s health that revealed a critical oversight. Reproductive health services were not provided, and the woman she spoke with had never been asked about these needs. Daniels asked her, ‘What happens when you’re menstruating? The woman’s response was, “We stay in the shelter, dig a hole in the ground and sit on the hole, so when menstruating, we don’t come out at all”.’
Ugochi Daniels continued:
‘Can you imagine that? And she said that while she was out and able to discuss with me, her sister was in their shelter because she was having her period. How can it be that even the most basic aspect of being a woman in this situation had not come up in the response?’
This experience was deepened when Somali non-governmental organisation women leaders in Nairobi gave her a beautiful shawl she wears to this day. And they said ‘you forgot us, but we will never forget the women of Somalia and we will continue to be there with them’.
‘It has stayed with me forever and in a way it links to the point I made earlier about connecting with people and making them feel seen, because when you feel invisible, it’s like a mindset. That’s exactly what disempowerment looks like. That you resort to sitting on a hole in the ground when you’re menstruating because no-one is thinking about your needs and no-one is offering support. Because of that I’m always asking the question: who else haven’t we considered? Who else haven’t we reached? Who else? Who else? Who else?’
How does Ugochi Daniels address these questions as Deputy Director General for Operations of the International Organization for Migration?
She started by saying that ‘2023 was the deadliest year on record for migrants dying and going missing while in transit. The greatest challenge right now is that many people are embarking on journeys to migrate irregularly because they believe they have no other options, putting their lives in the hands of smugglers and traffickers. And many are dying as a result.’
Ugochi Daniels added:
‘There’s a very negative political narrative around migration. This year, half of the world is going to the polls. Migration is at the heart of the platforms and manifestos and it’s often framed negatively. At the same time, there’s no country in the world that does not have migration as part of its history. There is no country that’s going to be able to continue to have socio-economic growth without migration because of aging populations. And we know that what is funding sustainable development right now is remittances.’
‘The biggest challenge of migration is also the biggest opportunity. So we have to turn this narrative from the negative to the positive. Migration is an accelerator for development – if it is well managed, dignified, regular,’ she continued.
‘There are many people who talk about the fact that their community would be much less vibrant and thriving without an inflow of migrants. And even those who speak negatively about migration,when you begin to break it down and talk about their doctor, dentist, teacher, caregiver, manicurist, hairdresser, then I often get an expression like, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Those migrants we want. We need those. We don’t need those on the boats”. And the reality is that those on the boats and those you see at the border are a very small in number compared to overall numbers of migrants, but obviously they’re the most visible. The instrumentalisation of migration must always be countered. We must provide context and the evidence that shows the contributions of migration.’
‘A whole range of actors need to be involved if you’re going to have good outcomes for migrants and their communities, in their countries of origin, transit and destination.’
Ugochi Daniels highlighted the IOM’s role as an honest broker in facilitating safe, regular migration and advancing migrant rights, while addressing urgent humanitarian needs and long-term development goals.
‘What is required in today’s world is the ability to help governments factor migration into their development planning and priorities. You’ve got Member States and governments, the private sector, recruiters, civil society, migrant associations, the diaspora – but very few spaces where they all connect. Yet they are all involved in the migration journey at one point or another. And, in our honest broker role, we are initiating discussion, and bringing together all the relevant stakeholders for a meaningful discussion on migration. Because when you’re talking about moving safely and regularly and putting in place a visa scheme that enables people to move, there needs to be a job at the end of it. People need to be recruited ethically into that job. They need to have the relevant skills. Families need to be oriented on what it means when one of their family members migrates. A whole range of actors need to be involved if you’re going to have good outcomes for migrants and their communities, in their countries of origin, transit and destination.’
Probing the question of the type of leadership approaches within the IOM to respond to the challenges, Ugochi Daniels said there are two aspects: ‘from both internal and external perspectives, we need to ensure the organisation is fit for purpose and able to address the global migration challenges of today and tomorrow. One tool that will help point us in the right direction, as leaders, is our “leadership compass”. This is really important, because even if you have the best strategic plan, even if you have the best vision, even if you have the best mapping of challenges and opportunities in the world, your workforce has to be primed and ready to be able to deliver on that and to drive teams to deliver on that.’
‘The protection of migrants is a personal leadership quest for me, which of course entails being able to engage Member States in a politicised and polarised global context.’
Shifting to the external view, Ugochi Daniels said the IOM should be able to communicate and engage:
‘IOM may be perceived as different things to different people, Some think we’re only humanitarian, others think we’re only refugee resettlement and there are others who think we’re only development. So being able to externally brand the IOM in a way that our partners and stakeholders can understand is very important, as is positioning migration as a force for good and an accelerator for development.’
Ugochi Daniels reiterated that ‘the protection of migrants is a personal leadership quest for me, which of course entails being able to engage Member States in a politicised and polarised global context. Member States have the right to determine who can stay in their country, but there’s a respectful, dignified way to do that. Closing borders won’t stop people from coming anyway. It just means that they’re going to take more risky measures because the labor market gaps are such a strong pull factor.’
Ugochi Daniels explained that IOM is involved in 47 emergencies around the world, with 30% of its portfolio going into transition, recovery and early development and in all of these settings people are displaced.
‘Every year we reach about 30 to 35 million people in emergency settings, with a whole range of life saving and protection services. That’s the first priority. The second priority is how you end – or prevent – displacement and how you enable and support people to return home. How do you build social cohesion between people who’ve been displaced and the communities that host them? How do you prevent people from being displaced? When you speak of transition and recovery, that’s where things like stabilising communities, social cohesion and helping people restore or learn new livelihoods comes in, not to mention adapting to the impact of climate change. And we know that climate and environmental pressures affect everyone, everywhere – but mostly those living in already-fragile contexts who are least able to adapt.’
Ugochi Daniels added that in big emergencies IOM is really focused on environmental sustainability in the context of recovery, as its operational footprint is in communities:
‘I’m so proud that in the remotest part of any country, if the UN is there, then the IOM is there.’
Group picture with Ugochi Daniels and students from a local school in Marka, Somalia, during a visit to an IOM project working with communities rehabilitating and constructing schools in 2023. Photographer: Claudia Rosel Barrios, Media and Communication Officer at IOM.
The IOM became a UN related organisation in 2016 and has been able to enhance its ability to respond to global migration challenges. Ugochi Daniels explained, ‘Given that migration is not an issue you deal with in one country alone, by definition you need country-to-country, region-to-region cooperation and so being a member of the UN family for us is an imperative. So too is being strategic as an organisation, which is over 90% project-based. Being in the UN enables us to be strategic and engage governments in multilateral discussions at a global level.’
‘Take the example of the Global Compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration,’ she said. ‘Supporting countries to implement this landmark agreement would be next to impossible if the IOM was not a member of the UN family.’
In closing the conversation, we asked Ugochi Daniels what worries her the most and what she would do with a magic wand?
‘I am most worried about losing trust. The trust of my team, the trust of the Member States I meet, the trust of the migrant. I know if I have gained that trust, even in the most difficult situation, it will help us reach the light at the end of the tunnel. And that trust is built on the ability to deliver. Trust must be earned – it’s about doing what you say you will do.’
We came full circle to the start of our conversation with Ugochi Daniels’ last reflection.
‘I would use my magic wand for two things. Empathy. And to be held to the standard of what you tell your children, at the end of the day, about what you did that made you proud. When I see what some leaders are saying and doing and what’s happening, what do they tell their children when they go to bed at night? I know it sounds very simplistic and idealistic, but anyway, it’s a magic wand, right? That’s a very simple standard. It is something you can proudly tell your children that you did.’
Read more
Established in 1951, the IOM is part of the United Nations System and stands as the leading intergovernmental organisation in the field of migration.
With 176 member states, and around 30,000 staff in more than 180 countries, the IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing support to migrants across the world, developing effective responses to the shifting dynamics of migration and providing advice on migration policy and practice.
The organisation collaborates with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners to improve the resilience of people on the move, particularly those in situations of vulnerability. It also works closely with governments to manage all forms of mobility, and their impacts. This work includes operations in some of the most complex emergency settings in the world.
The IOM’s World Migration Report 2024 reveals latest global trends and challenges in mobility.
Author: Edit Morin-Kovacs