The European Commission’s humanitarian arm, ECHO, is funding IOM Zimbabwe over 12 months to strengthen protection services and post-arrival assistance to migrants and Flow Monitoring (FM) activities at PoEs, border communities, and congregation points through data collection and analysis on migration trends for a more comprehensive understanding of mobility dynamics. This project builds upon the work that IOM has been doing for several years to collect data on flows of people across Southern Africa. Through its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) tools, IOM has been actively working with national and local authorities in order to gain a better understanding of population movements in the country and in the region. Quantifying migration and mobility patterns is essential for the development of adequate migration policies, disaster preparedness and humanitarian programming.

This project’s activities are set to reach 33,000 beneficiaries who are migrant returnees or mobile populations and will involve IOM continuing to support the response at Zimbabwe’s main border posts: Beitbridge, Plumtree, Forbes and Chirundu. Activities will also take place at inland mobility corridors including Masvingo, Bulawayo, Chimanimani, Mutasa, Chipinge, Kariba and Karoi where IOM has presence. The project will be implemented in coordination and partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, particularly the Ministries of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and Public Service Labour and Social Welfare and other relevant line-ministries to meet the basic needs of returned migrants. IOM will conduct data collection activities to identify and prioritize areas with limited capacities for emergency preparedness and response and produce regular updates, national flow monitoring monthly datasets, maps, and dashboards to be disseminated to government, CSOs, and the humanitarian/development community. The information collected will culminate in the production of a Migration Profile for Zimbabwe, a much needed and up to date repository of migration information in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZIMSTAT). Under this project IOM will continue to support returnees who have faced adversity during migration with Information Counselling and Referral Services (ICRS) taking into regard the gender, age, and disability dimensions of mental health.

Speaking at the project’s inception, IOM Zimbabwe Chief of Mission Mario Lito Malanca thanked ECHO for their continued partnership and commitment to ensuring that migration is managed in an effective way. He emphasized the importance of coordination between national and local authorities as well as with humanitarian development partners in this project. “It is important to continue to support Member States in mapping and studying how migration affects development and vice versa at the community level to mainstream migration into community development through supporting the development of local migration profiles,” Malanca said. 

For more information contact Fadzai (Penny) Nyamande-Pangeti 

+263 787 8686 08  fnyamandepan@iom.int