IOM provides direct assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees for food, households items, and public transport through: 

1. Direct provision of Multipurpose Cash Transfers for food, household items, utilities, healthcare services, public transport to the most vulnerable families to secure their survival in a dignified manner; 

2. Direct food assistance, food baskets, food vouchers, agricultural inputs and technical assistance that promote agricultural development, to vulnerable Venezuelan migrants and refugees, host communities, including indigenous communities, and with particular attention to children; 

3. Improving the facilities, equipment and management of shelters, communal kitchens or communal spaces providing food for migrants, refugees and host communities (“soup kitchens”). 

IOM supports migrants and refugees through the direct provision of primary health services as well as continuity of health care services, including information on how to access health care, and assistance in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, provision of medicines and family planning. IOM will: 

1. Promote and support access to and deliver essential healthcare services to migrants throughout the migration process;

2. Provide technical support including capacity trainings, equipment, supplies and advocacy to national authorities to eliminate the main barriers, that limit the access (geographic, financial, migrant status) and use of healthcare services (capacity and resources of facilities); 

3. Advocate for the inclusion of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in national frameworks that guarantee access to comprehensive, preventive and curative health services; 

4. Provide migrants information about available health services and how to access them that is linguistically and culturally appropriate;

5. Ensure non-discriminatory access to health services to all individuals, regardless of their migration status, and without discrimination;

6. Collaborate with migrant and host communities and organizations to support community-based health interventions and better understand the needs and challenges faced by migrants and develop appropriate solutions;

7. Provide direct primary health services through mobile health teams, health fairs and partnerships with local healthcare facilities.

IOM provides community-based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to reduce psychosocial vulnerabilities and promote resilience through: 

1. Advocacy for the inclusion of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in national frameworks that guarantee access to MHPSS services; 

2. Provision of direct community-based MHPSS services to vulnerable migrants, including survivors of GBV and their children – by strengthening pre-existing community-generated activities or developing programme-generated sport and play, creative and art-based, and socio-relational and cultural activities for children/youth 

3. Provision of individual and group counselling for adults and the elderly who require focused MHPSS interventions, implemented through implementing partners and IOM’s psychosocial mobile teams; 

4. Provision of cash for MHPSS consultations and services for children, youth migrants and their parents; 

5. Information campaigns on MHPSS and mental health care, including the development of self-help tools; 

6. Workshops on mental health promotion and preventive mental health and psychosocial support services at the Assistance and Orientation Points (PAO), health centers and other meeting places for refugees and migrants. 

IOM supports migrants and refugees through the direct provision of movement assistance through: 

1. Support for the voluntary relocation of Venezuelans in a safe, orderly and dignified manner, including monitoring of relocated migrants and refugees; 

2. Movement assistance for vulnerable migrants and refugees from Venezuela to enable access to basic needs and to other assistance available to them, including for labour integration purposes, or for students, among others; 

3. Support for humanitarian movements (local and regional/state);

4. Provision of travel kits to families; 

5. Development of high-level panels on humanitarian movement, publication of studies on local movement and risks, and the development of R4V guidelines on humanitarian movement.

IOM increases governmental, NGO and community-based service providers’ capacities to provide protection assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees through: 

1. Information provision, counselling and legal assistance activities; 

2. Trainings on migration, child protection, prevention of GBV, provision of specialized assistance and services to GBV survivors, VOTs and people at risk of TiP and smuggling, including training on comprehensive assistance, case management and referrals; 

3. Direct assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees exposed to protection risks, including shelter, MHPSS, health, livelihoods and integration; 

4. Risk assessments and analysis of risk factors for trafficking and smuggling, and development/updating of guidelines for prevention, identification and comprehensive assistance, including promoting regional cooperation; 

5. Development and implementation of sensitization campaigns on integration, rights and protection for children and adolescents, intercultural care systems for practitioners, GBV and Trafficking prevention for victims, those at risk, public and private officials, NGOs, civil society organizations and other organizations, and mental health de-stigmatization; 

6. Development and implementation of community-based complaints and feedback mechanisms (CFM) and interagency accountability to affected populations (AAP) strategy;

7. Protection principles are mainstreamed across interventions to ensure safety and dignity, avoid causing harm and guarantee meaningful access to assistance for all persons in need, without discrimination. This includes GBV and Child Protection risk mitigation as well as the inclusion of persons with disability and the elderly throughout the program cycle.

IOM provides direct assistance through: 

1. Accommodation provision to the most vulnerable migrants and refugees through temporary shelter solutions (individual or collective according to each context), including rental assistance and accommodation in hotels (through cash-based interventions (CBI) when appropriate); 

2. Provision of NFIs (cooking kits, clothes, household items, and essential household items), through direct distribution of kits, or CBI; 

3. Improve/repair existing government collective shelters including the provision of equipment and household items.

IOM increases governmental, NGO and community-based service providers’ capacities to provide protection assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees through: 

1. Information provision, counselling and legal assistance activities; 

2. Trainings on: migration, Child Protection, prevention of GBV, provision of specialized assistance and services to GBV survivors, VOTs and people at risk of TiP and smuggling, including training on comprehensive assistance, case management and referrals; 

3. Direct assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees exposed to protection risks, including shelter, MHPSS, health, livelihoods and integration; 

4. Risk assessments and analysis of risk factors for trafficking and smuggling, and development/updating of guidelines for prevention, identification and comprehensive assistance, including promoting regional cooperation; 

5. Development and implementation of sensitization campaigns on integration, rights and protection for children and adolescents, intercultural care systems for practitioners, GBV and Trafficking prevention for victims, those at risk, public and private officials, NGOs, civil society organizations and other organizations, mental health de-stigmatization; ; 

6. Development and implementation of community-based complaints and feedback mechanisms (CFM) and interagency accountability to affected populations (AAP) strategy. 

7. Protection principles are mainstreamed across interventions to ensure safety and dignity, avoid causing harm and guarantee meaningful access to assistance for all the persons in need, without discrimination. This includes GBV and Child Protection risk mitigation as well as the inclusion of persons with disability and the elderly throughout the program cycle 

The following actions include a special focus on the integration of women, youth and indigenous persons: 

1. Promotion of the educational (diploma validation, enrolment), financial (access to the banking system, seed capital) and economic (entrepreneurship, vocational trainings) inclusion of Venezuelan migrants and refugees through coordination and advocacy with government stakeholders; 

2. Provision of life-saving information through information campaigns and orientation sessions about the regularization process and access to rights, migration policy (employment of staff, material, events, informative sessions); 

3. Conduct capacity-building trainings, and provision of material support (refurbishment, equipment for schools, etc.) to local and government actors to facilitate migrants’ integration; 

4. Engagement with the private sector to promote corporate social responsibility and ethical recruitment including labour rights for integration; 

5. Promotion of social cohesion activities between host and migrant communities, through community events, trainings, and design of antixenophobia campaigns.

IOM increases migrants’ access to the health system in their country of residence through:  

1. Provision of critical medicines, medical devices, personnel, supplies and equipment to health care providers, including hospitals, clinics, and health centers; 

2. Develop/establish referral networks between primary care providers and specialists to ensure that migrants receive appropriate care when necessary;

3. Capacity building trainings to employees from the local health systems and local community networks about the comprehensive, preventive and curative health programs which are beneficial, accessible, and equitable for migrants and mobile populations, as well as health promotion and community engagement for vulnerable populations; 

4. Strengthen community engagement to build trust and facilitate the exchange of information between healthcare providers and migrants; 

5. Build/strengthen the Community Health Workers (CHW) network to bridge the gaps in care and provide basic health education, prevention and care services, disease surveillance, prevention and management, referral and follow-up, advocacy, and cultural competency;

6. Communication with Communities (CwC), and capacity building of community leaders to promote community organization, participation and mobilization for health promotion in migration contexts;

7. Develop migrant-friendly health policies to recognize the importance of providing equitable access to healthcare.

IOM implements the following activities: 

1. Development and implementation of a national mental health awareness campaign to mitigate stigma and inform about available services; 

2. Carry out a mapping of MHPSS stakeholders to strengthen referral mechanisms of intersectoral and interagency collaboration on MHPSS programming;

3. Development and implementation of a psychosocial support toolbox for children and adolescents aimed at members of the educational community: directors, teachers, parents and students; 

4. Training for Community Mental Health Centers and national or regional hospitals on evidence-based MHPSS Models and Concepts of Work, existing mental health tools, psychosocial support and protection routes for survivors of GBV, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, children and adolescents at risk or unprotected, elderly, chronically ill, HIV-positive or disabled; 

5. Direct provision (with implementing partners) of mental health/psychological support to Venezuelan migrants and refugees through group and individual counselling and psychological first aid.

IOM strengthens the provision of WASH services in transitional and post-crisis situations by: 

1. Adapting and/or rehabilitating water and sanitation infrastructure (water tanks, water trucks, other devices for access to drinking water and hand washing as well as latrines, toilet blocks, laundry areas, washing rooms, solid waste management infrastructure, among others in public learning facilities / health care facilities / protection-transit centers for migrants and refugees, as well as social and community infrastructure; 

2. Improving infrastructure and implementation of care points that facilitate access to showers, drinking water and/or restrooms. 

To provide durable solutions to migrants and refugees from Venezuela, IOM provides direct and indirect assistance for:  

1. Migrants and refugees to meet their basic needs (food, shelter, WASH, health, education etc.) through the distribution of goods, in-kind assistance, and CBI; 

2. Migrants’ and refugees integration, including facilitating access to education, trainings, support for livelihoods/income generating activities, and strengthening of the social fabric with host communities);  

3. Legal assistance including regularization/migration status support, access to documentation, advocacy and awareness of migrant rights; 

4. Implementation of a comprehensive program including research and direct beneficiary support to advance the socioeconomic integration of Venezuelan migrants in Peru, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic; 

5. Capacity building/strengthening of national institutions (organization of conferences/meetings with government officials, IGO, and NGO workers, supporting the development of regulations, procedures, guidelines, policy and legislation materials) and building partnerships with IOs, NGOs, CSOs and governments

To strengthen MHPSS, IOM will:  

1. Train 100 responders across the region on the R4V model for supporting survivors of GBV, including through remote PSS services, and in-person trainings of 3 weeks, for 3 groups of 32-35 people in 3 countries.

IOM strengthens WASH sector capacities through: 

1. Development and strengthening of capacities to ensure the distribution of safe water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, and waste management of refugees, migrants and host communities participating in community spaces (kitchens, shelters, etc); 

2. Maintenance of equipment, construction of wells, installation of filters, distribution of tools and hygiene items, etc.;

3. Hygiene promotion campaigns in shelters or communities for proper use of hygiene kits, proper hand washing techniques, prevention of communicable diseases, and safe use and storage of water;

4. Development of methodological guides, visibility material and information material.

IOM tracks displacement by:  

1. Conducting DTM surveys in transit, destination, and in border areas to capture, process and disseminate information through regular DTM reports, maps and dashboards for a better understanding of the movements, and evolving needs of the Venezuelan population, including profiling of persons intending to return to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; 

2. Profiling of beneficiaries and identification of integration services offered to Venezuelan migrants and refugees, including through implementation of DTM-WiFi projects (flow monitoring);  

3. Collect information at three levels including  focus groups of coordinators and administrative management of educational institutions, caregivers of children and adolescents, and students over 6 years of age enrolled in educational institutions; 

4. Strengthen IOM regional DTM coordination capacity between 17 missions of the response, Regional Offices and the OSE as well as analysis products based on information needs. 

Due to the magnitude, proximity to Venezuela, and the vastness of the territory, in addition to other border characteristics, IOM Colombia decided to use these new technologies to capture information, characterize the population and monitor the flows, while also providing the opportunity for the population itself to access free internet, reconnect with loved ones, and view self-protection messages simultaneously. This project incorporates traditional methodology components to enhance information processing and raise red flags in real-time  

Based on the identification of strategic points (service stations, transportation terminals, shelters, and other sites), and their prioritisation under the DTM methodology, Wi-Fi points were installed, through which the refugee and migrant population can access the internet through an express connection (3 minutes), or through a quick registration process that provides an unlimited connection.  

The information is captured through: Wi-Fi Analytics, which allows for gathering information on user connections, connection date, time, number of times they use the network, geographic location, and visits to useful websites.  

Captive network for the implementation of short autofill forms on the situation, movements, needs, risks, and regularization. 

IOM supports response actors by: 

1. Mobilizing resources (donor meetings/visits, liaising, conferences, presentations); 

2. R4V/GIFMM (regional and national coordination mechanisms and activities, visibility, information management (IM), capacity building and general coordination); 

3. Monitoring & Reporting (situation monitoring, project evaluations, 5w reporting, needs assessments, IM platforms, post distribution monitoring, reporting on response, donor and other reporting activities/expenses); 

4. Establishing a regional emergency NFI contingency stock and pipeline, including funding for regional procurement, warehousing, dispatching, and in-kind distribution;

5. Providing support to NGO implementing partners, including through funding for, technical support and in response to sudden large-scale movements of migrants and refugees from Venezuela and/or to further expand shelter assistance.