Key Regional UpdatesAs of 27 May 2021, a total of 5,842,219 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, out of which 95,473 fatalities have been reported. Following the launch of the two (2)-year ‘Regional Response to COVID-19 in North African Countries’ programme to respond to the emergency needs of COVID-19 affected population in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia and prepare individuals and communities for longer term-recovery funded by the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF) on 20 April, IOM Country Offices initiated interventions, including support to the quarantine of international students in Tunisia, training of migrant community leaders on mental health and psychosocial support needs of migrant communities in Egypt. At the MENA Regional COVAX Working Group, IOM presented on migrant’s access to vaccination in the MENA region. The presentation informed that many migrants, especially those in irregular status, have multiple barriers to access vaccines, and proposed action points to safeguard migrants and equitable vaccine distribution to both migrants and host community including two way communication mechanism in migrants’ languages for building trust, and removing administrative barriers for registration.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 02, 2021 03:33 UTC