Crisis Response

Conflicts, armed violence, disasters, epidemics, pandemics and other types of crises force millions of people to leave their homes and communities, sometimes for years or even decades. More than 80 million people are currently on the move within and across borders due to disasters that displace an average of about 25 million people each year. Economic recession, political instability and other factors also drive large population movements.  

As the lead UN agency in the field of migration, IOM is committed to saving lives as well as helping populations move away from places of risk. It protects those who have been displaced or stranded by crisis and supports populations and their communities to recover. It works to mitigate the adverse drivers that force people to leave their homes, assists in building resilience and focuses on disaster risk reduction so that movement and migration can be a choice.  

The organization is among the world's largest humanitarian actors and is one of the few international organizations whose programs have a direct impact across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus to provide comprehensive responses in all phases of crises. IOM's efforts to address the mobility dimensions of crises are framed by the Migration Crisis Operational Framework (MCOF).  

The IOM Regional Office for the Americas supports crisis response through a wide range of programs and activities.  
 

Why is mobility important during a crisis?  

Most crises-including conflicts, armed violence, disasters, epidemics, pandemics, severe economic or other recessions-have dimensions linked to mobility, especially when:      

• Populations move or require support to change locations to avoid harm.  
• Populations that were displaced or forced to move - or are stranded - by a crisis have specific needs for protection and assistance.  
• Populations return to their homes, relocate or integrate into local communities as part of their recovery from crises.  
• Communities must adapt to the sudden and/or large population influx, sometimes temporarily, sometimes for a long time.  
• Nomadic routes or seasonal work cycles, among other mobility-related practices, may have been disrupted.  

IOM applies its expertise in the field of mobility and movement to save lives and address the wide range of long-term impacts of sudden population movements or altered migration patterns on individuals and communities.