Alexandria, 25 - 26 September 2019 - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Egypt held two days of capacity building sessions on a variety of pressing issues at the request of Syrian community leaders. While leaders from the Yemeni, Sudanese and South Sudanese communities in Alexandria and the North Coast had received training previously in response to needs and requests, this was the first of such activities for the Syrian community in this area. The Syrian community requested information on the protection services, legal assistance, trafficking in persons and medical training in response to health concerns in their community such as diabetes and nutrition, hepatitis and first aid.

The first day included sessions provided by IOM Egypt staff on protection services, followed by a lawyer from IOM’s legal partner, the Arab Council for Fair Trials (ACSFT). ACSFT addressed community concerns about various issues, such as legal documentation for marriages and divorces, and problems faced in providing documentation for leasing apartments.

Later that day, the Migrant Health Division presented the emergency and medical services provided by IOM, followed by an informative lecture on hepatitis and the delivery of emergency first aid.

The second day began with a discussion on trafficking in persons in Egypt, during which IOM staff responded to queries and concerns from the community on security issues and experiences with trafficking. Information provided to the community focused on empowering leaders to understand, prevent and respond to trafficking and raise awareness of protection mechanisms available to victims or persons at-risk of trafficking.

Finally, the capacity building sessions concluded with a lecture on nutrition, including the proper vitamin intake, diabetes’ causes and treatment, and coronary disease prevention and general heart health.

Mr. Laurent De Boeck, IOM Chief of Mission to the Arab Republic of Egypt, commended the leadership of the attendees in their communities and commented on the event: “IOM is always eager to listen to the needs, issues and interests of the migrant communities, and the feedback they provide to us on what services their community most urgently wants to talk about. Communication with our leaders of migrant communities allows us to understand those needs and better respond to them. Our capacity building initiatives in Alexandria and the North Coast have been vital in shaping our interventions and responding in real-time to the issues that are present for these groups.”

The capacity building sessions were made possible by the support of the European Union under the Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa (RDPP – NA). The activities supported the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 3: Good Health and well-being, Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, Goal 10: Reduced inequalities and Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies. It is also in line with the Global Compact for Migration’s Objectives, namely Objective 7: Address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration, Objective 15: Provide access to basic services for migrants, Objective 16: Empower migrants and societies to realize full inclusion and social cohesion and Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS): 2030 Vision, namely the Social Justice Pillar: “By 2030, Egypt is a fair interdependent society characterized by equal economic, social, political rights and opportunities realizing social inclusion. A society that provides protection, and support to marginalized and vulnerable groups”.

For more information, please contact Wigdan Mohamad at IOM Egypt, Tel: + 20 10 12428527 Email: wimohamad@iom.int