INFO SHEET IOM Ghana Refugee Resettlement - West and Central

N E W S L E T T E R/ S I T R E P

Children wait for their connecting flight at the airport in Newark, USA. © IOM 2013

United States Refugee Admission Programme (USRAP)

Founded in 1951 to assist in the resettlement of IOM Ghana serves as the regional hub for both services Europeans displaced in the aftermath of War II, and covers the following countries: IOM has provided essential services in support of refugee Country Operations Medical resettlement operations for over six decades. In the last Yes Yes decade alone, IOM has organized resettlement Yes Yes movements of 892,243 refugees from 186 locations Yes Yes around the world. In West and Central Africa, the main Verde Yes Yes destination country for refugee resettlement is the United Central African Yes Yes States. Yes Yes

Congo Yes Yes In West and Central Africa, IOM provides the following Congo, Dem. Republic Yes Yes resettlement services under the USRAP:  Movement Management and Operations Côte d’Ivoire Yes Yes  Health Assessments and Travel Health Assistance Equatorial Yes Yes Yes Yes Gambia Yes Yes Ghana Yes Yes Guinea Yes Yes Guinea Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Niger Yes Yes

Nigeria Yes Yes

Senegal Yes Yes Yes Yes Above: Refugees ready to board their resettlement flight in Yes Yes Amsterdam, Netherlands. © IOM 2013

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INFO SHEET

Movement Management and Operations

Part of IOM’s core mandate is to arrange safe and orderly Main nationalities resettled: movements for refugees and vulnerable migrants. Movement services for refugees travelling under IOM Nationality FY11 FY12 FY13 auspices include the following: 184 133 315

 Obtaining travel documents including exit permits, Congo 25 93 149 transit visas; Congo, Dem. Republic 86 42 42  Pre‐embarkation orientation;  Transportation to and passenger handling at Liberia 39 50 44 embarkation airports: assisted check‐in, help with 8 68 26 customs and immigration formalities;  Arrangement of international and domestic air tickets 28 40 61 at reduced fares;  Provision of operational or medical escorts for Resettlement Support Centre (RSC) Support refugees with special needs; and IOM provides extensive support throughout the to  Assistance in transit and on arrival. the RSC for Circuit Rides to the various missions. IOM Ghana assists with the coordination of services, budgets Statistics and invoices, and acts as an intermediate between RSC, Although resettlement figures in WCA are low compared IOM and the IOM concerned. to East Africa, an increase can be seen over the last few years: Typically, the logistical support comprises of refugee Fiscal Year 2011 (Oct ’10 – Sep ’11) 409 transportation, provision of accommodation and food, arrangements for security, child minders and interpreters, Fiscal Year 2012 (Oct ’11 – Sep ’12) 489 but it may extend to other requests as well. Fiscal Year 2013 (Oct ’12 – Sep ’13) 691 Capacity Building

IOM Ghana aims to enhance capacities in the region in The current Fiscal Year started off with a few major order to ensure safe and efficient refugee and migrant challenges. As a result of the US Government shut-down, movements from the region in line with IOM Standard refugee arrivals were put on old in October 2013 and Operating Procedures (SOPs) and agreements and the many movements had to be cancelled and travel packets various programmes’ requirements. returned. In Chad, lack of exit clearances from national authorities is hampering resettlement departures. IOM In 2013, IOM Ghana organized and hosted a remains confident, however, that departures can increase regional training for Operations Assistants from the entire in the second quarter and that the projected numbers for region. It was the first training of its kind which addressed the fiscal year can be achieved. refugee resettlement and migrant movements targeting

the staff who are directly responsible for pre-departure Main countries of departure: and departure assistance. Departure Country FY11 FY12 FY13 Cameroon 117 155 75 Central African Republic - 65 - Chad 130 35 286 Congo 67 3 46 Congo, Dep. Republic 21 9 114 Gabon 8 89 50 Ghana 35 67 107

Above: Refugees are reunited with loved-ones. © IOM 2013

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Health Assessments and Travel Health Assistance

Health assessments in the context of refugee resettlement constitute one of IOM’s core activities. Refugees are a particularly vulnerable population, with health profiles that vary according to the displacement experience, pre‐existing health conditions, and epidemiological profiles, among other factors. Health Assessments and travel health assistance ensures that refugees are fit to travel and meet the requirements of the resettlement country.

Through its pre-departure screening and treatment service, IOM provides presumptive and targeted anti- parasitic treatment within the period just before travel to minimize international transmission of diseases of public health significance. Fitness to travel checks and Above: A pre-departure medical screening examination at the IOM office in stabilization of chronic conditions are also done prior to , Ghana . © IOM 2012 (Photo: Nyani Quarmyne) travel.

IOM upholds safe and dignified resettlement by providing individual or group medical escort services for refugees requiring medical attention and monitoring during travel.

Those refugees given a migration health assessment by IOM Migration Health staff in West and Central Africa are listed according to country in the below table. The number of cases nearly doubled from Fiscal Year 2011 to Fiscal year 2012 and remained steady in Fiscal Year 2013.

Migration Health Assessments, by location* Country FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 Benin 5 0 0 Burkina Faso 0 0 0 Above: A USRAP participant has his blood pressure checked during a pre- Cameroon 31 136 81 departure medical screening . © IOM 2012 (Photo: Nyani Quarmyne) Central African 67 0 0 Republic Chad 207 201 206 Congo 9 3 17 Congo, Dem. Republic 22 4 14 Côte d’Ivoire 2 0 6 0 0 0 Gabon 3 178 4 Ghana 17 73 194 Gambia 0 0 1 Liberia 1 5 1 Mali 0 59 11 0 0 0 11 0 113 0 0 10 Sierra Leone 0 0 2 Togo 1 15 0 Above: A client arriving at IOM to collect a UK TB screening certificate. © IOM 2012 (Photo: Nyani Quarmyne) Total by FY 376 674 660

*Includes re-medical examination

IOM Mission to Ghana House # 10, Plot # 48, Osu-Badu Road/Broadway, Airport West, P.O. Box 5222 Accra North, Ghana Tel: +233. (0)302 742.930 Fax: 233. (0)302 742.931 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.iom.int/cms/ghana OPS2/0214 23