In this issue of the Bulletin, peer-reviewed articles, technical guides, reference books and book chapters which IOM teams have engaged in, ranging from: COVID-19 outbreak preparedness and response in refugee camps, gender-based violence in emergency settings, health system strengthening at borders, and health assessments among forced migrants were profiled. Studies on the elimination of TB and female genital mutilation among migrants and the Ebola outbreak response were also featured.

The report documents information on the activities and outputs of country missions covered by RO Vienna.  It also includes some information on relevant publications available in the region. 

This guide offers clear steps and suggestions to help in providing quality care to survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence and guide the development of a protocol for care. Presented in this guide are simple but important ways that every healthcare provider, including those who are not specialists, can follow to assist a woman who has experienced violence to meet a range of critical needs, including immediate and ongoing emotional/psychological health needs, physical health needs, and safety needs.

This study aimed to collect baseline information across a number of states on gender-based violence (GBV), sexual and reproductive health, HIV, and gender norms in emergency settings among key populations of humanitarian concern in South Sudan, including internally displaced persons in the protection of civilian sites, host communities, and female sex workers.

While much work has focused on advocacy and prevention efforts in countries of high prevalence in Africa and diaspora in Europe, there has been a paucity of discussion on FGM in the Asia‐Pacific region. FGM is practised in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines and Indonesia; however, none of these countries are supported by the UNFPA‐UNICEF Joint Programme on the Abandonment of FGM. Australia and New Zealand are also home to migrant women and girls with FGM.

‘SRHR-HIV Knows No Borders’ has been designed as a holistic, regional project to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV-related outcomes amongst migrants (including migrant adolescents, young people and sex workers), as well as non-migrant adolescents, young people, sex workers and others living in migrationaffected communities. It is being implemented in selected high-volume migration-affected communities, including border communities, in all six countries. 

Abstract

The Migration Health Division of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) acts with Member States, UN agencies and other partners in the international community to meet the operational challenges of migration, advance understanding of migration health issues, encourage socioeconomic development through migration, and work towards ensuring respect of the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

Migration and mobility are central features of the Pacific Islands landscape. The diverse island States dispersed throughout the world’s largest ocean are connected by thousands of years of migration, history, and culture. Mobility continues to remain a cornerstone of contemporary Pacific Islander identity and is central to many facets of Pacific Islands life.

IOM’s health response to humanitarian and public health emergencies aims to save lives, reduce morbidity and alleviate suffering while upholding humanitarian principles and protecting human dignity. IOM’s programming in this domain encompasses the various stages and typologies of emergencies, throughout all the phases of the mobility continuum.