Enabling human mobility within resilient pandemic preparedness and response

IOM will work to support governments in enabling human mobility within their resilient pandemic preparedness and response. IOM commits to leverage its programmes and mechanisms to facilitate information sharing on the impact of restrictions on human mobility. IOM will continue to strengthen collaboration with partners to ensure that global and national pandemic preparedness and response plans include health and protection services for migrants, as well as promote cross-border harmonization and interoperability of technology for data collection and sharing. IOM will support enhanced inter-agency coordination on cross-border mobility and pandemic preparedness including the possibility of creating a dedicated forum. IOM commits to provide capacity building support to Member States and partners for health and integrated border management including development, implementation and monitoring of needed tools, and the digitization of mobility management mechanisms.

LAST UPDATED: 4/JUL/23

• IOM established a Member State-led Ad hoc Working Group to identify lessons learned related to the integration of public health imperatives with immigration and border management measures, for increased predictability in human mobility and to establish common actions to prepare for forthcoming shocks, including future pandemics. 

• This Working Group seeks to ensure continuity between the lessons learned during the pandemic and migration management measures, by offering a platform to discuss how human mobility fits into pandemic prevention preparedness and response (PPPR), with a focus on the ongoing multilateral processes related to PPPR. 

• IOM convened the first meeting of the Working Group in March 2023. The modalities of the Working Group are being finalized, in collaboration with Member States wishing to advance these discussions, with a tentative timeline to meet three more times before the end of 2023.