Information Hubs on Migration in the north of Central America share experiences on information assistance in times of COVID-19

On July 28, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador held a virtual exchange of experiences at the Information Hubs on Migration, with the aim of establishing tri-national information lines to improve the care of migrants throughout the region.

The activity was attended by representatives of twelve hubs in the three countries, as well as the International Organization for Migration focal points who serve the hubs in each country.

"This space allowed us to learn about the functions of the hubs in each of the participating countries, highlighting good practices in their management, especially in response to the needs of intraregional migrants who are stranded or in transit, in the current context of COVID-19," explained Isabel Flores, IOM Project Specialist in Honduras and one of the speakers at the activity.

The sanitary emergency caused by the pandemic has highlighted gaps in crisis response abilities among institutions that provide services for migrants, and especially for those stranded in transit. For this reason, emphasis was placed on the development of skills on mixed migratory flows, mechanisms for the identification and reference of vulnerable profiles, and the management of lines of communication between the three countries.

Good practices shared included work with communities of origin, inter-institutional coordination to assist migrants and prevention of irregular migration. The latter was complemented by information on existing mechanisms for regular migration between the three countries.

This activity was developed within the Regional Program on Migration Mesoamerica -The Caribbean, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).