As part of its mandate to promote and support safe and sustainable migration, IOM Niger provides dedicated, tailored and immediate assistance to migrants in Niger. Migrants can receive IOM assistance through its transit centres. IOM also provides assistance to stranded migrants in the desert in the Agadez region.
The assistance provided in the transit centres is comprised of shelter, food and water, medical services and psychosocial assistance through protection staff. IOM also assists migrants in establishing travel documents to travel voluntarily back to their country of origin.
Thousands of migrants are welcomed and assisted in the 6 IOM transit centres every year and amongst them are individuals with differing needs such as unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, victims of exploitation and abuse, smuggled migrants and trafficked persons, elderly persons, families, and migrants with special health needs. The Protection Unit provides tailored assistance to vulnerable migrants, including enhanced care during their stay in Niger and an individual reintegration program for many of them. Potential asylum seekers are referred to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency through a mechanism established between IOM and UNHCR.
As well as the 1 500 migrants benefited from direct medical assistance from IOM’s on site medical teams more than 500 vulnerable migrants benefited from specific protection assistance. IOM provided specialized assistance to over 300 unaccompanied mi-nors who arrived in its centres and more than 60 victims of trafficking.
Over 180 unaccompanied minors from Niger and from third countries were assisted in the IOM transit centres in 2016, IOM was able to assist 90 among them with return and reintegration, while the others were still in the care of IOM while family tracing continued.
IOM also assisted 40 victims of trafficking in 2016 with all appropriate protection measures and individual reintegration assistance upon return.
Psychosocial activities organised in the transit centres are a key part of IOM’s support to migrants while they are in Niger. Through its implementing partner, COOPI, the migrants have access to direct psychosocial support such as individual and group counselling but also participate in workshops, games or sport activities such as football or yoga.
Till date three( 3) centers are operating in Niamey and three (3) other in Agadez region (Agadez, Arlit and Dirkou). Hence six (6) centers are functioning now.
NUMBER OF MIGRANTS ASSISTED WITH PROTECTION (2017)
|
Accompanied minors assisted |
Unaccompanied minors assisted | Victims of trafficking | Medical cases | Medical consultations |
| 434 | 317 | 145 | 398 | More than 6.010 |
NUMBER OF MIGRANTS ASSISTED WITH PROTECTION (2018)
|
Accompanied minors assisted |
Unaccompanied minors assisted | Victims of trafficking | Medical cases | Medical consultations |
| 1473 | 346 | 79 | 508 | More than 20.883 |