IOM will continue to provide need-based assistance to migrants and other populations affected by conflict and natural hazards in accordance with Sphere standards. IOM will:

• Provide emergency shelters;
• Provide transitional shelters for displaced populations who have been in the same location for at least 12 months and show acute needs;
• Distribute NFI kits including both basic items and items for groups with specific needs (such as dignity kits, kits for pregnant women, baby kits, and material for persons with disabilities). In coordination with the WASH and Protection Working Group (WG). Additionally, as for COVID-19 response, an adapted COVID kit will be provided to vulnerable affected populations, especially in hard-to-reach localities;
• Provide cash-based assistance to households who had their houses destroyed or damaged by natural hazards and/or are affected by displacement in areas least affected by insecurity.

Protection concerns are integrated across these activities, including measures to mitigate risks of gender-based violence (GBV) in line with the IOM's Institutional Framework for Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Crises (GBViC), such as (but not limited to) ensuring the safety and privacy of shelter solutions for single females and female-headed households, establishing community spaces for women and girls, ensuring safe access to water points to women and girls, and conducting safety assessments with women and girls. IOM’s programming will ensure that the security of tenure is considered and strengthened for all those affected.

IOM will provide community-based and individual mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services to migrants and crisis-affected populations in Niger, to maintain their mental health, enhance their psychosocial well-being and strengthen their resilience. IOM will:

• Carry out individual and group counselling and other MHPSS activities in transit centres in sites for displaced people or through mobile teams expanded to IDPs and populations affected by the ongoing crisis. The teams will use the Psychological First Aid (PFA) approach and therapeutic tools; provide socio-relational and social cohesion-fostering activities such as sport and play; creative and cultural activities, such as music, dance, and art-based activities that help to (re-)establish an interpersonal exchange and supportive structures in crisis-affected communities;
• Provide referrals for people with severe mental health conditions to specialized mental health service providers including national services and NGO partners, as needed;
• Provide awareness-raising and capacity-building, notably on conflict mitigation and mediation activities for local authorities and communal leaders such as women and youth.

All activities will be in line with IOM’s Manual on Community-based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies and Displacement and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings.

IOM seeks to ensure that crisis-affected populations in areas of displacement as well as areas of return in the regions of Diffa, Tahoua, Tillabéri and Maradi have access to effective WASH services and can adopt improved hygiene practices to ensure positive public health outcomes including prevention and control of cholera, COVID-19 and other communicable and WASH-related diseases. By doing so, IOM will support upholding the human right to safe water and sanitation, whilst ensuring the dignity and well-being of populations. IOM will:

• Support the construction of household latrines in support of emergency shelters and gender-segregated communal latrines in schools, hospitals, and other public spaces, in line with SPHERE Standards; 
• Carry out hygiene promotion to encourage improved hygiene practices and long-term behavioural change to improve public health outcomes, in collaboration with health practitioners; 
• Improve WASH services at the health and border management level by refurbishing border crossing points and providing WASH services such as installation/rehabilitation of water points, latrines and hand-hygiene facilities, as well as training staff on effective IPC including RCCE of WASH-related and communicable diseases. Ensure the provision of WASH Services in other regions such as Agadez, especially along the migratory routes and in the mining areas.
• For all newly constructed WASH infrastructure, capacity building will be undertaken to ensure the relevant governance structures are trained on the operation and maintenance of the infrastructure.

IOM aims to partner with local organizations and partners assessed to have strong community links and capacity, to:

• Provide critical support to existing health services and local health structures (such as contributing to the procurement of medicines and supplies, and facilitating capacity-building where needed) in displacement sites in the regions of Tillabéri, Tahoua, Maradi, and Diffa, including by providing logistical support to local health authorities with access to these displacement sites and communities;
• Conduct targeted health promotion and risk communication activities at the community level, including by facilitating the participation of health staff from local health structures in coordination with the WASH Working Group;
• Intensify health support to migrants in transit centers, including but not limited to basic health consultations, alongside enhancing infection prevention and control measures in the transit centers through improving transit center capacity to facilitate isolation measures, while also reinforcing the  coordination between health services and immigration services at key PoEs to reinforce Health Border Migration Management (HBMM) in a cooperative manner, especially in light of COVID-19 pandemic, and support the national response;
• Support COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases efforts;
• Supporting the GoN logistic efforts for the transportation of vaccines especially in hard-to-reach areas and zones affected by insecurity and for populations on the move;
• Design adapted sensitization messages in different languages for mobile populations to facilitate demand generation for life-saving vaccinations.

Third-country nationals in Niger or in transit in Niger have the possibility to avail of IOM’s movement assistance to voluntarily return and reintegrate into their country of origin. IOM will:

• Evaluate and provide the most feasible movement modalities via land or air for a safe, voluntary, and dignified return;
• Provision of pre-departure health assessments for migrants and ensuring that they are fit-to-travel (FTT) considering COVID-19 (and other key health) measures, and following-up on individuals with health (physical and mental) conditions/persons in need of any form of health support;
• Provision of operational and/or medical escorts (for specific cases as required);
• Support transit assistance and arrival assistance.

With regard to the protection of the most vulnerable migrants, displaced and other crisis-affected people, IOM Niger plans to:

• Facilitate the identification of protection risks and vulnerabilities experienced by migrants and populations affected by the crisis to provide protection and individualized case management for the most vulnerable stranded migrants in Niger, including unaccompanied migrant children, victims of trafficking (VoT), and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV);
• Reinforce its collaboration with the GBV Working Group and local organizations of people with disabilities (OPDs) to contribute to responding to the needs of survivors and people with disabilities through psychosocial support and direct assistance;
• Reinforce the capacity of government (e.g., MPFPE, ANLTP/TIM, juvenile courts) and local authorities in responding to the needs and protection issues of crisis-affected populations to better prevent and respond to protection issues through trainings, elaboration of tools and equipment donation including on CT in Emergency, GBV, Child Protection, and Disability Inclusion;
• Prevent and mitigate risks of GBV, exploitation of children, trafficking in persons and other human rights violations, through capacity building of peer educators, engaging populations and men and boys as actors of change;
• Reinforce the protection angle in all sensibilization and community cohesion activities in crisis-affected areas, including awareness of GBV and the risks linked to irregular migration such as trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants;
• Support community committees in executing their role of protection for displaced population and host communities by organizing awareness-raising and community-based activities;
• Rehabilitate structures to ensure the integration of safe spaces for women and child-friendly spaces while enhancing accessibility for persons with disabilities;
• Ensure that responses are inclusive and tailored to specific needs, e.g.; through the distribution of specific NFI kits, including dignity kits / Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) items for women and girls, promoting the dignity of displaced and host populations; and through inclusive and accessible activities and assistance minimizing barriers for persons with disabilities and elderly persons. Cash-based interventions or voucher assistance may be provided based on needs;
• Integrate GBV and disability indicators in needs assessment tools;
• Enhance the capacity of IOM Niger and its partners to prevent and respond to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) through mainstreaming Prevention against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) across operations, reinforcing/building capacities of staff and IPs through training, and disseminating information across assisted communities on PSEA, reporting channels and services available.
• Augmenting IOM’s broader, inclusive protection interventions, through its seven transit centers (located in Assamaka, Arlit, Agadez, Dirkou and Niamey), IOM Niger’s Migrant Resource and Response Mechanism (MRRM) promotes migrants' access to basic rights by providing comprehensive needs-based protection and direct assistance services to migrants transiting through, returning to, or traveling to/from Niger, ensuring that the specific needs of migrants are comprehensively addressed by IOM or through referrals to partners.

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 risk mitigation as well as Disability Inclusion of Persons throughout the program cycle. Particular attention will be given to effective participation and empowerment of the community. Activities will be conducted and evaluated in consultation and collaboration with communities and will ensure meaningful participation of vulnerable groups especially women and girls, children, persons with disabilities, and older persons. Furthermore, IOM will ensure that Complaint and Feedback Mechanisms (CFM) and other reporting mechanisms related to PSEA and the Child Safeguarding Policy (to be published in 2023) are in place to prevent misconduct and guarantee accountability to the affected population, in line with the IOM Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) Framework.

IOM aims to reinforce social cohesion between communities and authorities in Niger by addressing underlying factors of fragility and supporting inclusive and transparent governance mechanisms at the community level. IOM will:

• Improve inter and intra-community social dialogues and foster collaboration between communities, migrants and the local authorities through activities aimed at strengthening/restoring trust between the actors concerned; 
• Strengthen the role and impact of local monitoring committees to promote local governance through community exchanges and consultations on key community issues;
• Strengthen the capacities of local and traditional authorities to enable them to fulfil their role as mediators in conflict resolution and social and community mediation;
• Implement cultural and social activities and establish exchange platforms to encourage dialogue and social cohesion;
• Support community dialogues between communities and local authorities to enhance decentralized services of the State to improve access to and provision of basic social services identified by communities. The most common interventions are in the health, sanitation, water, and education sectors. Communities after a participatory decision-making process can participate in the construction and/or rehabilitation of essential services such as the supply/distribution of drinking water, in particular through the construction of “small water supply mechanisms”. Latrines will be built in schools, health centres, and public services, as well as schools and health centres, to improve educational and health conditions in the most remote areas.
• Implement tailored economic recovery initiatives to address the needs of the most vulnerable groups, particularly women and young people through income-generating activities (including cash-for-work schemes, the provision of grants to local cooperatives, and setting up small businesses).  Furthermore, technical skills of young entrepreneurs will be strengthened, supporting local businesses and raising awareness among young Nigeriens (including women) of self-employment and the creation of entrepreneurial activities.

IOM seeks to prevent, manage and resolve conflict as the driver of displacement and obstacle to return and reintegration in the regions of Diffa, Maradi, Tahoua, and Tillabéri. IOM works at the individual, community, and institutional levels to address the drivers and triggers of conflict, and manage conflict dynamics, by supporting violence prevention and resolution, community stabilization, and social cohesion, creating conditions for sustainable peace. To do so, IOM will: 

• Reinforce local authorities’ capacities to prevent conflict by rehabilitating/building public infrastructures such as schools, boreholes, integrated health centers, and community infrastructures (such as community radios and youth and culture houses). These activities will be instrumental to enhance local communities’ trust in local authorities;
• Contribute to reducing women and youth’s economic marginalization by implementing livelihood activities (cash-for-work in land rehabilitation and city sanitation; and income-generating activities). Those activities will engage both displaced and host community members to promote peaceful coexistence;
• Mitigate the marginalization of women and youth by providing them with a platform in forums gathering key stakeholders including local administrative and customary authorities. By involving both displaced and host community members, these activities will help find inclusive solutions to prevent inter-ethnic tensions and the spread of violent extremism in the targeted communes;  
• Establish and strengthen the Peace Committee networks in communes (composed of traditional, religious, youth and women leaders) to improve local exchange frameworks promoting peace and social cohesion.

IOM aims to build on its strong partnership with the GoN at the national (Ministry of Public Health) and regional (Regional Directorate for Public Health, DRSP) levels through continuing and sustained support, and the provision of health assistance at the cluster level. IOM will continue to improve access to, and improve the quality of healthcare for all populations in the target areas, whilst working to facilitate more migrant-sensitive healthcare provision. With this aim, IOM will:

• Reinforce the preparedness of the GoN to respond to public health emergencies, e.g., with materials and equipment support, facilitate coordination meetings, create and distribute education and communication materials;
• Reinforce the communication and referral systems among the health authorities, health structures, and communities;
• Reinforce and facilitate access to health services for migrants and mobile populations;
• Conduct discussions and periodic assessments/evaluations in consultation with partners as appropriate (e.g., ‘état des lieux’) to identify the gaps in primary healthcare provision in IOM's areas of intervention;
• Reinforce collaboration with existing health partners/actors and relevant WGs;
• Reinforce regional or intra/inter countries coordination and collaboration mechanisms to improve cross-border public health disease surveillance.

In Niger, due to the official government policy on formal displacement sites, vulnerable populations displaced by conflicts or natural hazards are forced to live in spontaneous sites referred to as “community groups”.

In fragile contexts such as the regions of Diffa, Tillabéri, Maradi, and Tahoua, where displacement has increased over the recent years, IOM has elaborated an “out-of-camp” approach that simultaneously addresses the immediate vital needs of the most vulnerable communities affected by displacement, while taking into account the needs to strengthen the resilience of both displaced populations and host communities in coping with the effects of prolonged forced displacement, ensuring synergy between humanitarian assistance and development-oriented actions for the broader community. This approach aims to contribute to the progressive achievement of durable solutions for vulnerable populations affected by forced displacement, including host communities, in line with IOM's Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situations Framework and the UN Secretary-General's Action Agenda on Internal Displacement. In order to achieve this IOM will:

• Support the functioning of deconcentrated and decentralized state services through capacity building on preparedness and response to mobility;
• Support community resilience through income-generating activities;
• Establish an accountability mechanism;
• Collect, analyze, process, and disseminate information on displaced populations and their expressed needs and follow up on the implementation of sustainable solutions;
• Assist beneficiaries with transitional and durable shelters;
• Implement the ‘out-of-camp’ strategy to support communities affected by displacement with a holistic approach that simultaneously addresses the immediate vital humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable displaced households while also providing durable solutions and improving the resilience of displaced, returned, and host communities in light of the protracted nature of the displacement. This will involve using a community-based approach in our interventions, strong beneficiary involvement, durable and transitional shelter assistance, and IGA assistance with strong consultation with the community and local authorities.

In parallel, IOM is working towards the integration of the migration environment and climate change link into public policies and is looking at creating alternatives to forced mobility in territories affected by environmental degradation. IOM will:

• Promote specific agriculture techniques (including half-moons and inter alia) and effective natural resource management;
• Support green job initiatives;
• Evaluate the potential and possibilities of diaspora engagement.

In 2023, IOM Niger will continue its efforts on emergency preparedness and continue to:

• Train local authorities in the provision of a coordinated and rapid response to potential, massive and sudden population displacements with people fleeing from sudden-onset disasters in a neighbouring country. Activities could include the organization of simulation exercises, in order to elaborate regional intervention plans in all regions. The simulation exercise also includes a health component for a pandemic simulation;
• Conduct capacity-building exercises to reinforce the preparedness of the GoN to respond to floods and other recurring disasters resulting from natural hazards in the country. This will include training of the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management together with Civil Protection on disaster risk reduction principles, including improving early warning systems and piloting interventions to support risk reduction in Niamey;
• Support local authorities with capacity-building and contingency planning in areas affected by natural hazards and man-made crises, such as through implementing floods/droughts/wildfires response plans to be activated in several communes; and
• Provide NFI (inclusive of MHM items) and emergency shelter kits as contingency stocks in preparation for significant population movement due to armed conflict and large sudden disasters in line with the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management contingency plan.

In order to strengthen the mental health and psychosocial support system IOM will:

• In coordination with the global IASC reference group on MHPSS, contribute to strengthening the work of the MHPSS technical working group by conducting a mapping of existing MHPSS resources and needs to identify gaps and by doing so, support the integration of MHPSS in the emergency response in Niger; and
• Train relevant actors, such as staff of NGOs, the Ministry of Health and community volunteers in MHPSS, including PFA, basic MHPSS, referral systems, and community-based MHPSS approaches.

To support the prevention of disasters or man-made crises IOM will:

• Implement community risk reduction activities, including information, education, and communication campaigns on prevention and risk awareness; and
• Design and build infrastructure to increase the resilience of communities to disasters, such as modular and scalable WASH infrastructure, multiple water supply options, flood protection and increased safety margins in design and operations through in-kind provision, accompanied by capacity building of the targeted communities.

IOM will: 

• Implement early warning systems at the community level in partnership with other UN/non-UN stakeholders;
• Support the Government of Niger to conduct a risk assessment identifying health impacts and hazards;
• Facilitate discussions and assessments with partners at the early stage of alerts generated to identify the needs and gaps, and subsequently mobilize resources in the context of communicable disease outbreaks;
• Provide logistical assistance to local health authorities to reach the affected population or potentially affected population to provide sensitization efforts (as necessary), and health care services;
• Support the development of strategies and/or standard operating procedures with the local, regional and national administrative and health authorities relating to preparedness;
• Support communities with early alerts and preparedness by promoting two-way dialogues among the community, the authorities and the relevant partners through community engagement and sensitization activities with communities about potential health threats, and feeding into community-events-based surveillance; and
• Conduct emergency drills related to public health emergencies.