Jakarta – International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Board (BP2MI) held a hygiene kits handover ceremony on Thursday, 25 November 2021, at BP2MI’s KH. Abdurrahmah Wahid Auditorium.

A total of 5,370 hygiene kits will be delivered to returnee and outgoing Indonesian migrant workers in support of the COVID-19 prevention.

IOM’s Chief of Mission in Indonesia, Louis Hoffmann, emphasized the importance of this support in contributing towards the country’s COVID-19 recovery efforts. “The hygiene kits distribution is expected to support the COVID-19 response and recovery plans as we must look at prioritizing health at key points in the migration journey, so that mobility remains safe and orderly," Hoffmann stated.  

According to the data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs per November 2021, a total of 236,000 Indonesians is known to have returned to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 70% of them were returning from main destination countries, such as Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, and Taiwan Province of China. In addition, placements of migrant workers have just recently resumed to these main destinations as well as new destination countries.

"This can be interpreted as full efforts to protect the interests of prospective Indonesian migrant workers and their families in realizing the guaranteed fulfillment of their rights in all activities before, during, and after working in legal, economic, and social aspects. This activity is expected to strengthen the cooperation that has been built by both parties, not only in dealing with the health risks faced by Indonesian migrant workers, but also supporting the government's priority to ensure protection for migrant workers throughout the migration process," Benny Rhamdani, Head of BP2MI, stated.

The hygiene kits will be distributed through BP2MI’s Technical Service Centers (Unit Pelayanan Teknis or UPT) in seven locations, namely Batam, Tanjung Pinang, Pontianak, Nunukan, Surabaya, Bandung, and Jakarta. The kits will include masks, soaps, hand sanitizer, air surface disinfectant spray, women napkins, kids’ cloth masks, as well as a baby set hygiene kits and information pamphlets on COVID-19 prevention and alternative livelihoods.

The activity is part of IOM’s COVID-19 response project, “Empowering Migrant Worker Households and Strengthening Capacities at Points of Entry in Indonesia” or known in short as the PMPMI Project, supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) under their Agenda for building resilience against COVID-19 through development cooperation (ABC Program).

KOICA Country Director, YunGil Jeong, in his remarks conveyed how the project would contribute to KOICA’s overall support towards the Global COVID-19 response, “I believe that caring and supporting vulnerable and marginalized people is a basic responsibility of the government in stabilizing and building the trust in society - especially caring for the migrant workers who have contributed in economic development of the home country has special meanings. This project has significant meaning in this respect.”

For more information, please contact:

Pya Ayunindya National Project Officer, Counter Trafficking & Labour Migration Unit at  sayunindya@iom.int

For an interview request, please contact:

Ariani H. Soejoeti Media and Communication Officer, IOM at asoejoeti@iom.int