Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tanzania Using Biometrics to Cope with Horn of Africa Chaos

It seems like West Africa is more active in the biometrics world. Here's some biometrics news from East Africa.

Tanzania Inaugurates Japan-Funded Immigration Facilities (Modern Ghana)
A 2009 IOM study "In Pursuit of the Southern Dream" suggested that some 17,000-20,000 mainly young men from Somalia and Ethiopia are smuggled through Tanzania en route to South Africa every year.
...
In each location the Japanese-funded project has allowed IOM, in close collaboration with Tanzanian police and immigration counterparts, to construct and extend premises where the migrants can be housed and screened.

It has also provided IT equipment to allow Tanzanian immigration officers to capture biographic and biometric data in order to create a record of all migrants passing through land border posts. The project has also donated 11 cars and three boats.