Mozambique – Population Mobility Mapping Beira Corridor (November 2020)
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- Govt. Mozambique
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BACKGROUND
The current outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a global pandemic, heightening the risk to vulnerable populations, internally displaced people and people on the move. On 22 March 2020, the Government of Mozambique officially declared the first positive COVID-19 case. In late March, South Africa declared a lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19, which prompted over 14,000 Mozambican migrants to return home from South Africa, through the Ressano Garcia border, within a span of a few days.
Based on discussions with partners and internally, IOM in collaboration with the Government of Mozambique’s Ministry of Health (República de Moçambique Ministério da Saúde) decided to target the Beira corridor for its first Population Movement Monitoring (PMM) and Flow Monitoring (FM) activities. The selection of the Beira corridor as the primary target for this exercise was based on an expected high flow of movements through these border points, high interest of Government and civil society partners, and a relatively easy access. The Beira corridor is a major hub on the migration and trade corridor linking landlocked countries in southern Africa to the Port of Beira, with its main entry point being Machipanda, the main the official border post between Mozambique and Zimbabwe (see map on page 5).
This report presents the findings and results of the PMM and FM activities conducted along the Beira corridor in the central region of Mozambique, which included a Participatory Mapping Exercise (PME) conducted on 13 October 2020, followed by site assessments conducted on 17 and 18 November 2020 and, Flow Monitoring activities, conducted from 19 to 21 November 2020.
The PMM and FM activities were conducted with the purpose of understanding the influence of COVID-19 on mobility patterns, by identifying and analyzing the status and preparedness of Points of Entry (PoEs) and other key mobility locations. Moreover, this report includes information on a total of 4,016 persons who were identified transiting through the flow monitoring points from 19 to 21 November 2020.