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IOM Council chair visits Zimbabwe and South Africa
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The Chair of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Council and Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Katharina Stasch, has visited Zimbabwe and South Africa to review the organization's activities.
The visit is part of the Council's mandate to determine, examine, and review IOM's policies, programs, and activities, which include saving lives, protecting people on the move, and creating regular pathways for migrants.
Stasch visited the two nations on September 30 and focused on IOM initiatives in key areas such as migration health, the return and reintegration of migrants, migration governance, and other crucial migration-related issues.
The IOM said Stasch's visit aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how these programs address and respond to concerns around gender, climate change, and migration, as well as cooperation between different agencies.
In Zimbabwe, the Council Chair met with migrants returning from South Africa, being supported by IOM to reintegrate back into their communities. She also spent time with women who shared their migration stories and their hopes for the future with reintegration and livelihood support from IOM.
Additionally, Stasch met with community workers supported by IOM and public health clinics promoting and providing access to sexual and reproductive health services for migrants, sex workers, and vulnerable people in border communities.
Accompanied by IOM and UNHCR staff, the Chair visited the Beitbridge Border Post to showcase inter-agency cooperation in promoting regular migration pathways. They also visited Musina, South Africa, where the Chair listened to the concerns of sex workers during an outreach event hosted by an implementing partner.
IOM provides services to migrants, sex workers, and vulnerable youth, along with host communities, to improve coordination and foster a better understanding of migration and health among partners, including government, civil society, and community leaders.
On the last day of her visit, Stasch visited the Migration Health Assessment Centre in Pretoria to meet refugees whom IOM supports with health assessments. IOM also provides pre-departure orientation to thousands of migrants each year.
Stasch said she visited South Africa and Zimbabwe to learn more about IOM's operations in these countries and the wider region. Germany, as a major donor and host country, is committed to using its Chairmanship to build bridges. She was inspired to see how IOM is ensuring migrants' dignity and rights while working closely with governments to develop policies that create safe, regular pathways for migration.
She also met high-level government officials in both countries, including Zimbabwe's Minister of Public Service, Labor, and Social Welfare and South Africa's Acting Deputy Director General of Global Governance and Continental Agenda.
The Chief of Mission and Sub-Regional Director of the IOM Sub-Regional Office in Pretoria, Justin MacDermott, hailed the visit by Stasch to the countries. He emphasized the importance of her visit in highlighting IOM's work in responding to the needs of migrants and working closely with governments and partners to create regular pathways for migration.
The visit is part of the Council's mandate to determine, examine, and review IOM's policies, programs, and activities, which include saving lives, protecting people on the move, and creating regular pathways for migrants.
Stasch visited the two nations on September 30 and focused on IOM initiatives in key areas such as migration health, the return and reintegration of migrants, migration governance, and other crucial migration-related issues.
The IOM said Stasch's visit aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how these programs address and respond to concerns around gender, climate change, and migration, as well as cooperation between different agencies.
In Zimbabwe, the Council Chair met with migrants returning from South Africa, being supported by IOM to reintegrate back into their communities. She also spent time with women who shared their migration stories and their hopes for the future with reintegration and livelihood support from IOM.
Additionally, Stasch met with community workers supported by IOM and public health clinics promoting and providing access to sexual and reproductive health services for migrants, sex workers, and vulnerable people in border communities.
Accompanied by IOM and UNHCR staff, the Chair visited the Beitbridge Border Post to showcase inter-agency cooperation in promoting regular migration pathways. They also visited Musina, South Africa, where the Chair listened to the concerns of sex workers during an outreach event hosted by an implementing partner.
IOM provides services to migrants, sex workers, and vulnerable youth, along with host communities, to improve coordination and foster a better understanding of migration and health among partners, including government, civil society, and community leaders.
On the last day of her visit, Stasch visited the Migration Health Assessment Centre in Pretoria to meet refugees whom IOM supports with health assessments. IOM also provides pre-departure orientation to thousands of migrants each year.
Stasch said she visited South Africa and Zimbabwe to learn more about IOM's operations in these countries and the wider region. Germany, as a major donor and host country, is committed to using its Chairmanship to build bridges. She was inspired to see how IOM is ensuring migrants' dignity and rights while working closely with governments to develop policies that create safe, regular pathways for migration.
She also met high-level government officials in both countries, including Zimbabwe's Minister of Public Service, Labor, and Social Welfare and South Africa's Acting Deputy Director General of Global Governance and Continental Agenda.
The Chief of Mission and Sub-Regional Director of the IOM Sub-Regional Office in Pretoria, Justin MacDermott, hailed the visit by Stasch to the countries. He emphasized the importance of her visit in highlighting IOM's work in responding to the needs of migrants and working closely with governments and partners to create regular pathways for migration.
Source - Byo24News
