Coronavirus: IOM says enhanced solidarity critical as virus spreads in world’s most vulnerable communities

14 Septembre 2020

Geneva, Switzerland, September 14 (Infosplusgabon) – Eight months from the onset of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling on the international community to accelerate support for efforts to mitigate and combat the illness’s impact on migrants, displaced persons and returnees worldwide.

IOM said its newly revised Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) requires US$618 million to cover the health, humanitarian and socio-economic needs of millions of people in 140 countries.

“The impact of the COVID-19 emergency on global health and mobility is unprecedented in size and scope,” said IOM’s Director General, António Vitorino.

“As the disease continues to spread to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, IOM requires increased support to guarantee their access to life-saving health and other services, to ensure they are not left further behind in the global response to the pandemic,” he added.

IOM said in a press release that in the last eight months since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, it the International Organization for Migration has reached more than 3.5 million people through awareness-raising campaigns on health and hygiene practices; protection concerns; stigmatization and mental health.

It has also assisted more than 225,000 people with mental health and psycho-social support in over 35 countries; delivered livelihood support to over 430,000 vulnerable persons in more than 40 countries; and  conducted more than six million COVID-19 health screenings for travellers in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone.

IOM said it has procured and delivered personal protective equipment, clinical care and diagnostics equipment and relief Items to 10 countries; and conducted baseline assessments at over 3,000 points of entry (airports, water ports and land border crossings) to support the enhancement of disease surveillance and effective preparedness and response efforts;

It has further supported COVID-19 testing capacity in over 20 countries, and deployed over 120 health staff to strengthen national capacities, in particular in Africa and Asia.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, over 28 million confirmed cases and over 900,000 deaths have been reported in more than 200 countries.

"The steady increase in reported COVID-19 cases continues to put pressure on health, social and economic systems," the press release said.

It noted that global mobility has come to a near standstill with travel restrictions, including border closures and air travel suspensions. As of 1 September, a total of 219 countries, territories, or areas had issued more than 86,700 travel restrictions to contain and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

IOM said movement restrictions have led to a loss of livelihoods for migrants – leaving millions of people stranded worldwide. "These stranded migrants now lack income to fund their return journeys. Many are vulnerable to exploitation and some have found themselves compelled into employment or accommodation with conditions that increase their exposure to COVID-19 and other diseases."

Consequently, IOM said, countries have seen significant drops in global remittances which, for years, have played a key role in poverty reduction and achieving access to basic services, including health and education, in countries from where migrants depart.

“With the economic slow-down and recession, the forcibly displaced and migrant populations will remain among the most severely impacted by the knock-on effects of COVID-19, which for many can be as drastically severe as the disease itself,” added Vitorino.

IOM noted that migrants living in dormitories and displaced persons living in crowded shelters and camps face increasing health risks as COVID-19 cases continue to emerge in their cramped living quarters, which often include inadequate sanitation, poor access to nutritional foods and limited access to health services such as testing.

COVID-19 has also greatly intensified stigma, xenophobia and discrimination against migrants and other vulnerable people as they are often wrongfully seen as disease carriers.

“IOM teams have continued to work in this challenging context to contribute to global efforts to halt further transmission of the disease, limit the humanitarian and socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, and support affected communities to prepare for longer-term recovery,” added Director Vitorino.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/PGV/GABON2020

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