IOM Egypt Fosters its Engagement with Migrant Communities Members
Alexandria, 1 – 3 June 2021 - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Egypt held three meetings with members of migrant communities from Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen, in Alexandria to raise awareness among the community members and foster engagement between the communities’ members and IOM Egypt.
During the meetings, the community members were briefed on IOM’s programmes and services, including the Direct Assistance and Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes, which have benefitted thousands of migrants in Egypt. They were also provided with comprehensive presentations on Gender-based Violence and Trafficking in Persons (TiP). The TiP sessions included an overview of the risk factors, the rights of victims, and the protection offered to victims.
“We really needed informative sessions like this especially in communities outside of Cairo as we normally are not aware of the services offered by IOM”, quoted a Yemeni community member.
According to IOM estimates, 6.3 million migrants are currently living in Egypt. Where 900,000 of them are living in vulnerable situations since the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the plight of those migrants. Therefore, IOM medical team has provided a session on the required appropriate measures to be implemented in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in the attempt of mitigating the negative consequences of the pandemic on the most affected migrants.
The meetings were organized with the generous support of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, through the “Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships for Sustainable Solutions initiative (COMPASS)” programme. COMPASS is a global initiative centered on a whole-of-society approach, in partnership with 12 countries (Afghanistan, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, and Tunisia), designed to protect people on the move, combat human trafficking and smuggling, and support dignified return while promoting sustainable reintegration.
For More Information:
For more information, please contact Mariam Salim at IOM Egypt, Tel: +20 1012 428 527, Email: msalim@iom.int
