The International Organization for Migration (IOM) collaborated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to coordinate and manage availability of shelter for people displaced by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. The group is working with the Bahamian Ministry of Social Services and Urban Renewal to make this possible.
The government of Bahamas activated the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to manage emergency activities in partnership with the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) located in Nassau. To this end, 13 emergency support functions (ESF) was created for better humanitarian coordination structure.
Each one of these ESF has its own government ministries and departments and gets to work with relevant UN agencies for better implementation and execution of activities. According to Vynliz Dailey, communications officer for IOM, “IOM has partnered directly with ESF-6, which deals with mass care and shelter and is led by officials of the Ministry of Social Services.”
While the Bahamaian government and humanitarian partners arrange for better housing solutions, thousands of people displaced by the hurricane are presently sheltered in schools, churches, and gymnasiums among other temporary shelters. And then, IOM will be submitting a list of immediate concerns such as distribution of non-food items, communication, accommodation, and safety issues among others to ESF-6 for immediate resolution.
“It’s going to take a lot of effort and coordination with many stakeholders to get the people into more suitable accommodations,” IOM Team Leader, Jan-Willem Wegdam, said. “IOM has been given the responsibility to support those efforts and we are more than happy to assist. On the ground, all the agencies are willing to collaborate with us and are dedicated to doing the work we have been tasked to do.”
At the moment, about 3,000 displaced persons, including Haitian migrants, are registered for shelter at New Providence. The number may increase as people are evacuated from various islands to shelters in Nassau. A displacement tracking matrix has been deployed to help with assessments. The IOM gave out almost 1,000 tarpaulins in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, and more humanitarian needs are also being met as they arise with available resources.
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