Outgoing UN resident coordinator Pauline Tamesis speaks at the launch of the ‘Emergency Health and Socio-economic Response to Returning Migrants’ programme on Tuesday. UN CAMBODIA
The UN in Cambodia – along with support from Japan – launched a new joint programme aimed at supporting the government with the implementation of measures at the border to limit the spread of Covid-19 variants of concern among migrant workers and meet their immediate needs as they return from abroad.
The programme, “Emergency Health and Socio-economic Response to Returning Migrants”, will run for 12 months and provide assistance to migrants in Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey and Battambang provinces, where the majority of migrants cross the border with Thailand.
The joint programme is part of a broader effort by the UN Cambodia team to help the Kingdom “build back better” post-pandemic through initiatives that emphasise human rights at their core and create a more inclusive and sustainable recovery for the Cambodian people.
The pandemic has been a prolonged emergency that has created a great deal of uncertainty, with new variants such as Omicron emerging to change the dynamics of the virus over time.
Currently, the infection prevention and control measures at Cambodia’s international points of entry that see large movements of people – such as the Thai-Cambodian border – are insufficient and therefore vulnerable and high-risk for being vectors of disease transmission, according to UN resident coordinator in Cambodia Pauline Tamesis, who spoke at the launch ceremony for the programme on May 10.
As borders open and public health measures are relaxed, there is a risk that the spread of new Covid-19 variants of concern into rural communities could subsequently overwhelm the already fragile health system of Cambodia, she said.
“Therefore, the priority is to strengthen measures for smart containment and protection to prevent larger-scale community transmission of these variants of concern into Cambodia,” Tamesis said.
Migrant workers in Thailand have limited access to Covid-19 testing and treatment. Many are unable to adhere to public health recommendations due to their living and working conditions as home isolation is usually unavailable for those migrants who test positive because they generally live in group quarters and often at their work site, according to the UN Cambodia press release.
Kristin Parco, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) chief of mission in Cambodia, said at the launch event that the programme will improve border management and health systems with the aim to create a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive society.
“In the longer run, our joint efforts – in particular working with local government leadership with a multi-sector approach – are vital to strengthening national and local preparedness, response capacities and mechanisms, including for future response to similar crises,” she said.
Karimata Atsushi, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese embassy in Phnom Penh, said at the event that ensuring a health compliant border response to limit the spread of Covid-19 variants of concern is imperative for protecting the lives of not only migrants but all people living in Cambodia.
“We feel fully confident that our contribution through IOM and the UN country team, with a human security perspective, will make significant and sustainable impacts on the migrants’ conditions at the border, particularly on vulnerable populations, and will contribute to increased infection prevention and control mechanisms even on future variants of Covid-19 and beyond Covid-19,” he said.
According to the UN Cambodia, the programme has two major goals. First, the flow of returning migrants at points-of-entry is improved to ensure that it is managed using a humane, dignified and health-compliant approach.
Secondly, appropriate quarantine and return systems are in place for returning migrants that meet their health, wellbeing and protection needs.
Ponn Samkhann, secretary-general of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT), said at the event that with the support of the Cambodian government, this joint programme will reduce the risk of a large-scale outbreak of Covid-19 caused by the ease of population movement.
“The NCCT will continue to support, coordinate with and promote this new project to achieve its stated outcomes,” she said.
