In partnership with national NGOs, and in collaboration with NDMOs, the NEMO and regional /national shelter cluster, IOM will address the shelter needs of internally displaced persons and disaster-affected communities, through:

• Conducting comprehensive needs assessments, with special consideration to persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups;
• Prepositioning and distribution of non-food items (NFIs) and emergency shelter materials procured locally within the region, which can include claw hammers, hand saws, nails, pad bolts and solar lights, which can be used by households to fortify their residences as well as distribution of assistance through cash/ voucher modalities;
• Providing information education and communication materials and training on house stabilization; and
• Reviewing local supply chain options for emergency NFI procurement, and the establishment of long-term agreements.

In partnership with NGOs, local CSOs, NDMOs and NEMO, IOM will provide mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services and activities to communities displaced by disasters and the long-term impacts of climate change, through;

• Community-based and interdisciplinary Psychosocial Mobile Teams (PMTs) facilitating socio-relational activities, such as sport and play, art-based and creative activities or cultural activities and rituals;
• Establishment of temporary Psychosocial Support hubs in displaced communities to host activities organized by the PMTs and as a contact point for community members;
• The training of service providers in Psychological First Aid (PFA);
• Provision of individual and group counselling to displaced communities and the establishment of peer support groups; and
• Setup of a referral system to MHPSS services, including specialized mental health care.

In support of the United Nations Secretary General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, IOM will collaborate with national and local authorities to develop and support progress towards the achievement of durable solutions for communities displaced by disasters and the long-term impacts of climate change. This will include people who remain displaced in Tonga as a result of the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HTHH) disaster. Through utilizing a rights-based, participatory, and inclusive approach, adhering to the pillars of IOM's Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situations (PRDS) framework, IOM will achieve this by:

• Providing participatory settlement planning for temporary or longer-term shelter/housing and safe and dignified transportation to support voluntary return or relocation/resettlement;
• Strengthening gender-based violence (GBV) risk mitigation through awareness-raising and protection interventions;
• Supporting community-based micro-credit schemes for traders and business start-up grants/packages, such as initial seed money or income-generating assets, to resume or create small businesses; and
• Supporting community-government meetings with broad participation aimed at resolving common issues of concern. 

Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is essential to the well-being of displaced persons. IOM will provide this support by:

• Providing sustainable access to water and sanitation services to internally displacement persons through the support of improved water and sanitation infrastructure;
• Strengthening management mechanisms at NDMO and NEMO that enable beneficiary communities to respond to their needs and endure future shocks; and
• Providing awareness raising and health advice to promote behavioural change-seeking hygiene.

Drawing upon its experience supporting community-led conflict mitigation approaches within different conflict situations, IOM will work with communities to address underlying drivers of conflict and to strengthen community capacity to promote peaceful resolutions and respond to threats that might lead to relapse into conflict or violence. Activities will include:

• Assisting in developing community peace for development plans (CPDP);
• Conduct training for inclusive community facilitation teams on peacebuilding and development planning;
• Establishing and supporting diverse Community Facilitation Teams for leadership in development and peace initiatives; and
• Developing referral pathways for protection and access to justice to support the Do No Harm principle.

IOM, in partnership with the NDMOs, will support evacuation management by:

• Rehabilitating / Constructing  multipurpose evacuation centres where gaps in emergency shelters are identified in high-risk and remote communities and retrofitting and upgrading community buildings to meet minimum standards of criteria for evacuation management; and
• Ensuring that identified protection risks in evacuation centres are addressed and referral systems for child protection and GBV are put in place.

In addition, through the regional Evacuation Centre Management and Displacement (ECMD) cluster under the humanitarian architecture of the PHT, IOM will support emergency preparedness by governments and cluster partners in the region by:

• Providing technical advice and support for information management;
• Strengthening localization and national capacities through organizing and providing displacement and evacuation management for partners (including government counterparts, NGOs community groups) to improve the overall understanding as well as capacity to carry out displacement/evacuation coordination, management, and administration activities. Displacement/evacuation training will aim to build the technical knowledge and capacities of displacement/evacuation practitioners to contribute to an effective settlement response and raise standards in the sector; and
• Ensuring first responders are trained on how to safely refer child protection cases and disclosures of GBV incidents in a safe and ethical manner and ensuring accountability to affected populations (AAP).

Community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) planning provides a holistic approach, encompassing the whole cycle of disaster risk management, in consultation with vulnerable groups within target communities. IOM plans to build the functional CBDRM capacity of government partners and target communities through:

• Mapping and assessing high-displacement risks areas;
• Improving the capacity of targeted disaster-prone communities in applying Disaster Risk Management strategies;
• Ensuring vulnerable communities in disaster-prone areas have better-quality information about potential hazards;
• Implementing small-scale infrastructural mitigation works, notably to address floods risk;
• Mapping of potential risks and safe areas along identified hazardous zones (i.e. prone to the risk of flooding and wildfires);
• Building capacity of knowledge management within the government response mechanisms;
• Awareness-raising and support to communities to understand risks and implement preventive practices as well as capacity building on building back safer;
• Developing an early warning system on meteorological hazards in close coordination and partnership with Civil Protection Agencies and NDMOs; 
• Implementing the ETT to provide information on sudden natural hazards, and conflicts that may have implications for the displacement of people;
• Conducting an in-depth technical remote sensing flood risk and vulnerability mapping of target areas; and
• Constructing and rehabilitating public infrastructure, including rainwater runoff systems, retention walls, spate irrigation, and more to mitigate the impact of climate change including unseasonal rainfall, flooding, and landslides. Special emphasis will be given to the reuse potential of flood water for agricultural purposes at the community level.

Ensuring communities are equipped with skills to manage evacuations in a safe, orderly, and coordinated manner is key to reducing the health-related impacts of displacement. IOM plans to carry out the following activities:

• Developing and updating key guidance documents, protocols and population mapping concerning the preparation, management and coordination of evacuation centres and displacement sites with respect to COVID-19 or any disease, alongside awareness-raising activities in coordination with NDMOs, NEMO, and national NGO counterparts;
• Upgrading critical evacuation centres and other sites of displacement to improve site safety and hygiene. This will include the development of tools and guidance for site planning, including contingency spaces and quarantine areas; and
• Prioritizing the engagement with internally displaced persons and host communities in assessing risks, monitoring, and reporting mechanisms, planning, and implementing mitigation measures; including capacity-building of leaders and set-up of new volunteer networks to facilitate health promotion and hygiene sensitization and awareness-raising activities.

IOM plans to build the capacity of NDMOs, NEMO, and national NGO counterparts on data collection, data analysis and data management, including through training on the use of IOM’s DTM to support data-driven crisis response interventions, such as:

• Providing support for nationally owned displacement tracking mechanisms and climate mobility monitoring, to address emergency displacement and long-term mobility challenges relating to climate change; and
• Building the evidence base and guiding support through increasing understanding of climate mobility trends and projections through research: distinguishing types of mobility in the region, impacts linked to losses and damages, generating statistics and proposing research efforts related to disaster risk reduction to partners.

IOM will provide support to NDMOs, NEMO, and national NGO counterparts and first responders and humanitarian partners as required, including by:

• Supporting engagement and preparedness of emergency operation centres;
• Ensuring the set-up of referral pathways for protection services, including child protection and GBV;
• Renewing emergency communication systems; and
• Reviewing of standard operating procedures.