Baku - During nine and half months project, IOM Azerbaijan provided 194 stranded and vulnerable migrants, including 27 female and 139 male migrants, and 28 children, with urgent assistance and supported vulnerable migrants (foreign/ third country nationals) to address basic food and hygiene, housing/accommodation, and/or medical needs in the scope of the “Provision of assistance to vulnerable foreign migrants in Azerbaijan within the framework IOM’s Global COVID-19 Response – the second phase” project.

Out of 194 individuals, 172 individuals received second-time assistance (IOM re-assisted for food, accommodation, and medical assistance per their need due to their dire situation). Of the total assisted migrants, 90 most vulnerable individuals, primarily families with underage children and persons with medical needs, received third-time assistance.

The migrants who received assistance from IOM Azerbaijan were from Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ghana etc., to whom IOM provided food and hygiene services, accommodation services, documentation, and medical assistance.

Most assisted migrants entered the country in 2020-2021 when strict quarantine measures were in place. These are mainly foreign students (42%), foreign workers (32%), foreign residents (15%), and others.

Moreover, IOM Azerbaijan produced two types of brochures in English containing general information about vaccination procedures and the benefits of vaccination and distributed among migrants. In this respect, IOM’s vaccine awareness campaign aims to promote COVID-19 vaccination uptake and tackle vaccine hesitancy among eligible foreign nationals in Azerbaijan.

The assistance was delivered to vulnerable and stranded migrants in the frame of the regional project on humanitarian assistance to stranded, vulnerable migrants (foreign nationals) in the South Caucasian countries funded by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).