EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

Ousmane, a 36-year-old Guinean national, was supposed to return home in March through the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme (AVRR) led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

As a result of the travel restrictions adopted in Morocco to slow the spread of COVID-19, his trip was cancelled, and he remained stranded in the country until borders would be reopened and returns are resumed.

In 2018, Ousmane arrived in Morocco to obtain medical treatment, but he ended up spending all his savings before being admitted into a public hospital.

“Following my friend’s advice, I left Guinea and came to Morocco for medical care. I packed my suitcase without expecting that the hospital fees would be very high, and I would be stranded in the country,” he explained.

“My life, my job, and my family are back home but I could not return because I cannot afford the trip.”

Last year, Ousmane reached out to IOM and signed up for the AVRR programme supported by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration, the first comprehensive programme bringing together 26 African countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa, the European Union (EU) and IOM around the shared goal of ensuring that migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities.

After informing him about available support and the conditions of the voluntary return and reintegration assistance process, IOM referred Ousmane for a health assessment and provided him with medical assistance to help him get ready for his trip back home.

In 2019, a total of 398 AVRR beneficiaries in Morocco had different types of medical needs that required urgent actions before facilitating their voluntary return. IOM provided all of them with medical assistance to ensure they return safely to their countries of origin.

When the lockdown was introduced in Morocco and Ousmane’s trip was postponed, the EU-IOM Joint Initiative was ready to provide swift assistance. He was provided with vouchers to cover his immediate needs for four weeks. Other 150 migrants in Morocco have also received similar support.

“Honestly, it is hard to deal with my own conditions daily, getting small things done can take up so much energy. I can’t wait to return to Guinea and see my family,” Ousmane said.  

Since 2005, IOM assisted over 13,000 migrants to voluntarily return from Morocco to their countries of origin through the AVRR programme. In 2019 alone, 1370 migrants were assisted under the programme.

Beginning in June 2019, the EU-IOM Joint Initiative in North Africa aims to contribute to the strengthening of migrant protection and sustainable reintegration systems in North Africa by improving protection and enabling the voluntary return of stranded migrants and migrants in transit, supporting targeted countries to enhance the sustainability of reintegration through an integrated approach to reintegration, increasing the capacities of North African countries and relevant stakeholders to develop or strengthen return and reintegration policies and processes.