BY SILAS NKALA OVER 4 800 Zimbabwean returnees have been offered cash-based assistance, while over 1 200 of them have been trained in conservation agriculture gardening to enable them to be self-sustaining during the COVID-19 period. This was revealed on Saturday by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Zimbabwe chief of mission Mario Lito Malanca in a statement, where he disclosed that a total of 200 000 Zimbabweans had come back from neighbouring countries. Malanca said during the return of the immigrants, IOM provided 2 665 beneficiaries with onward transportation from the border to various destinations across the country. “To address the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, 4 877 beneficiaries have been reached with cash-based assistance and 1 226 returning migrants and others in their communities have been provided with conservation agriculture gardening skills training,” Malanca said. “These interventions have been made possible through the support of government and funding support of dedicated donors. To continue with activities to strengthen COVID-19 preparedness and response capacities well into 2021, and to promote socio-economic reintegration through self-employment, community income projects and livelihood activities, IOM Zimbabwe’s 2021 Crisis Response Plan was recently launched,” he said. The United Nations agency’s chief of mission said 1 390 migrants and front-line officials had benefited from mental health and psychosocial services provided in collaboration with the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry at the border posts. Malanca said most of the 200 000 migrant returnees were from within the Sadc region and were heavily impacted by COVID-19 while in their host countries due to loss of sources of livelihoods following the enforcement of COVID-19 prevention and mitigation measures by governments. He appealed for US$38,9 million, which he said would benefit 1,7 million people to respond to the needs of those at the risk of displacement. Out of the US$38,9 million, Malanca said at least US$10 million would be earmarked to address the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on migrant returnees. Follow Silas on Twitter @silasnkala
The post IOM programmes benefit 4 800 returnee migrants appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.
