 The International Organization for Migration, together with the Francois Xavier Bernuys Centre for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, are pleased to announce the publication of the joint research, See Migration Like Water, an analysis of low monitoring survey data on migration flows in Western Central Africa. This research collaboration between IOM and Harvard University enables to conduct sophisticated analysis of risk factors along migration routes within and from Western Central Africa for a comprehensive and contextualized understanding of migrant vulnerability across the region's most popular routes. The study is based on flow monitoring survey data gathered by IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix from over 110,000 migrants in 2018 and 2019 across seven countries in West and Central Africa. This joint research is part of a wider effort to collect and disseminate accurate empirical data on migration dynamics and risks to promote safe, orderly and regular migration. The Western Central Africa region provides rich evidence of dynamic migratory patterns, including long histories of intra- and inter-regional migration flows. IOM's extensive database of thousands of face-to-face interviews along the main mixed migration routes of Western Central Africa, together with our team's extensive expertise on migration flows and migrant vulnerability to risks of any kind, including exploitation and human trafficking, provided for a unique opportunity to conduct a rigorous evidence-based analysis to assess and inform programming and policymaking. The study provides evidence of the impact that restrictive policies, including those emerging in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have had on the lives of migrants seeking access to mobility. It calls for an expansion of safe, legal and regular migration options to ensure the rights of migrants.