EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

Mintewab could not have imagined that an unexpected illness would ruin her ambitions of a life abroad.  

When the 28-year-old left for Sudan, her intention was to get to Lebanon with the hope of securing employment. But her plan was cut short in Sudan when the smuggler who was assisting her demanded more from her than payment. 

What happened next after is uncertain as that is the time when Mintewab developed a psychiatric condition. “Mintewab had a history of abuse when she was in Sudan that may have led to severe psychiatric disorders,” said Konjit, the manager at Good Samaritan Association, a shelter where Mintewab stayed after her return to Ethiopia.

Mental health disorders are a significant yet not a well-studied issue among returnees, even in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country with significant numbers of migrants and returnees.

At least 60,000 Ethiopians have had to return home since the onset of COVID-19. Many were forcibly returned and had to endure loss of income, stigma and xenophobia in addition to long periods in holding centres and quarantine facilities.

As Mintewab made her way back to Ethiopia, she spent time at an IOM-supported Migration Response Centre (MRC) in Metema, a town near the border with Sudan. “Mintewab had been living on the streets after returning from Sudan, without food or medical access. The community was supporting her,” said Alazar, a programme assistant at the MRC.

Given the severity of her mental condition, she was referred to Gonder city and later to Addis Ababa for specialised attention. This was done with the assistance of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa, and its local partner, the Good Samaritan Association. In the three months that she stayed at the shelter in Addis Ababa, she received professional counseling and psychiatric support.

As part of assisting returnees with their reintegration, the EU-IOM Joint Initiative also assesses returnees’ psychosocial and other health needs prior to providing specialised assistance to those who need it. Since June 2017 close to 5,300 returnees have gone through psychosocial support channels established by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative.

To facilitate support for returnees who need mental health assistance and follow up, the programme has partnered with St. Amanuel Hospital, the only state-owned hospital providing specialised psychiatric service in Ethiopia. Such assistance is also available through Lebeza psychiatry clinic, a private centre in Addis Ababa through-which returnees can access free medical assistance. 

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative has further cooperated with 11 public universities across various regions in Ethiopia with the intention of providing free medical assistance that includes psychiatric services to returnees.

In the wake of COVID-19, the programme recently conducted a virtual psychological wellbeing assessment for around 800 returnees. Close to 500 returnees showed psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis and substance abuse. They were later referred to Lebeza for support and follow up.

“We assist female migrant returnees and the majority have psychiatric disorders and survived painful experiences including abuse, dehydration and hunger,” said Konjit, who is also a nurse at the shelter run by the Good Samaritan Association.

“The assistance Mintewab received was very significant to her life. After the treatment, she became stable and even started remembering her past and her family,” said Konjit. When Mintewab completed her treatment, the shelter reached out to her immediate family to facilitate her reunification.

Following her recovery, Mintewab was consulted about her plans for the future. She expressed an interest in opening a small retail shop in Hossana, her hometown in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regional state. The EU-IOM Joint Initiative provided her with the materials needed to establish her shop.

Over the last four years, the programme has provided reintegration assistance to about 8,000 Ethiopian migrant returnees.

According to Sara Basha, the coordinator of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative in Ethiopia, ensuring the mental and psychological wellbeing of returnees is a priority for the programme. “It deserves no less attention than the social and economic reintegration assistance the programme offers. IOM is committed to safeguarding tailored mental health and psychosocial support and assistance for returnees,” she said.

Ms. Basha added: “IOM is also working towards building the capacity of key partners and actors who offer such services to vulnerable population, including returnees.”

 About the EU-IOM Joint Initiative

Launched in December 2016 and funded by the European Union (EU) Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the programme brings together 26 African countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa, the EU and IOM around the goal of ensuring migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities.

For more information please contact Helina Mengistu at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251 11 5571707 (Ext. 1109), email: hmengistu@iom.int; or the IOM Regional Office in Nairobi: Julia Hartlieb, Tel: +254 734 988 846, email: jhartlieb@iom.int and Wilson Johwa, Tel:  +254 20 4221 112, email: wjohwa@iom.int