The MERF and Mixed Migration Flows along the Mediterranean

The Migration Emergency Response Fund is a UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded rapid response, context specific, contingency fund run by the Start Network to respond to changes in the context, spikes, ongoing gaps and acute needs among refugees and other migrants along the central Mediterranean route.

This independent report commissioned by the Start Network is part of a wider lessons learned endeavour to review the value added of the MERF and the obstacles encountered by the mechanism since its inception in January 2017. Through an analysis of secondary sources and a focus on four country contexts, it provides an overview of the complexity of mixed migration flows along the Mediterranean towards Europe, and the context for MERF activity.