UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States Participates in the IOM South-South Cooperation Symposium on Climate Change, Migration, and Health in Morocco

Morocco, 12-13 October 2022, The UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States participated in the South-South Cooperation Symposium on Climate Change, Migration, and Health in Morocco organized by the International Organization for Migration, in coordination with the Directorate of Moroccans Residing Abroad, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. The symposium was attended by senior government representatives, partners, member states' ambassadors, civil society, academics, donors, and UN officials and came as part of the project “Promoting the health and protection of migrants in vulnerable situations in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and Sudan.”

UNDRR ROAS participation came to address adaptation and resilience strategies and present the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Health is a key element of the Sendai Framework, which also recognizes disaster displacement as an important concern. In disaster settings, access to quality healthcare services remains a challenge, especially for displaced populations. In recent years, closer synergies between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction are called upon as both of them focus on reducing vulnerability and building resilience against extreme weather events.

UNDRR ROAS highlighted how health and displacement are positioned in the Sendai Framework, especially in relation to the global targets, addressing the progress towards these targets. Furthermore, the symposium was an opportunity to present how UNDRR addresses the linkages between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the MENA region programmes and the key challenges in building synergies.

The symposium, which is aligned with Goal 13 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Goal 2 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, explored the links between climate change, migration, and health in the MENA region with a particular focus on women's health.

The symposium concluded with several recommendations to better enhance coordination, policy, and research on matters related to migration and mobility. This includes IOM calling on partners and key stakeholders to enhance research mechanisms and links between climate change, migration, and health in order to inform relevant policies by consolidating emerging good practices and evidence. Also, to strengthen the record of national, regional, and international health policies that promote the use of health services by migrants and to improve existing international, regional, and national partnerships.