Ukraine: IOM and the Austrian Ministry of the Interior Launch Joint Project for War-Displaced Persons
A joint project of the International Organization for Migration and the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, aims to help Ukrainian protection seekers with numerous assistance offers. The project will run with 400,000 euros until the end of August and can be extended if necessary.
Latest figures put the number of displaced Ukrainians at 5.2 million. / Picture: © © Alissa Everett 2022
Joint project between BMI and IOM
In view of the enormous humanitarian crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) want to launch a joint project to provide aid to war-displaced persons from Ukraine, especially women and children.
The long-standing partners plan to jointly invest 400,000 euros by the end of August to help the suffering people.
"The aid for people displaced by war from Ukraine is not only provided in Austria, but also in the immediately neighboring and particularly affected states. The focus is primarily on measures that support women and children," says Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner about the joint project between the Ministry of the Interior and the IOM.
The current project provides for numerous assistance measures. These include psychological care for traumatized people, access to information regarding onward travel and legal resettlement, legal counseling and the search for family members, parenting workshops and the creation of a supportive environment.
How many people are fleeing?
Estimates of how many people are actually fleeing are always difficult. Recently, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published an estimate that pegs the number at 5.2 million people.
Most of these people find protection in neighboring countries such as Poland, which hosts by far the largest number, 2.9 million people in total. However, these figures only include people who have left Ukraine.
The number of internally displaced persons within the war-torn country is 7.7 million people, according to the IOM.
What is the IOM?
The International Organization for Migration was founded in 1951 and since then has been one of the leading intergovernmental organizations in the field of migration, committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. The IOM is part of the United Nations system, as an affiliated organization.
The organization's work is guided by several key frameworks. A specially crafted 12-point strategy, adopted by the IOM Council in 2007, outlines the organization's core objectives and provides an effective description of the scope of IOM's work.
BMI - Ministry of the Interior - Bundesministerium fuer Inneres