Geneva – The Government of Japan has allocated USD 37,100,767 to support the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s operations in 2021. Through this funding, IOM will implement projects to help vulnerable migrants, including displaced persons, refugees, returnees and communities affected by COVID-19, as well as conflict and crises worldwide.   

The Japanese contribution will also help to stabilize regions by building the capacity of various governments in humanitarian border management. 

More than 40 per cent of the contribution will be utilized to support IOM programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa; 35 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa and Europe; and 20 per cent in Asia.  

IOM’s Director General, António Vitorino, expressing appreciation for the generous contribution, said: “IOM is grateful for the continued support from the Government of Japan. In the time of COVID-19, this contribution will allow IOM to provide life-saving assistance for mobile populations facing COVID-19, as well as other existing crises. Japan’s generous support also will aid governments responding to other difficulties in the fields of border management, health, and livelihoods.”  

Japan-funded activities will include improving the capacities of the governments for integrated border management and building the capacity of the governments in health response, especially at points of entry and in border areas. In conflict-affected regions, displaced populations are also severely affected by COVID-19. The generous contribution will allow IOM to mitigate such negative impact toward mobile populations and build basis for assistance after COVID-19 crisis. 

To read the press release in Japanese, please click here. 

For more information, please contact Paul Dillon, Managing Editor, IOM Geneva; Tel.: +41 79 636 98 74;  Email: pdillon@iom.int