The Central Asian country of Turkmenistan is one of a handful of countries around that world that has not yet reported any cases of COVID-19.  

However, there is growing concern for victims of trafficking who may be exposed to the virus when outside of the country. Considering this potential danger, IOM brought together representatives of ten partner NGOs for an online workshop to build capacity in their organizations to react to human trafficking in the current reality.  

“Even though we have no reported cases of coronavirus in the country, in many ways everything has changed as indeed it has changed around the world”, noted Azat Atajanov, the head of IOM’s office in Ashgabat. “We have fewer face to face meetings, both with our counterparts and with victims of trafficking, so we have to learn how to work without human contact, which is particularly sensitive in cases of trafficking or exploitation. Much of what we do has to be rethought and reimagined.” 

The one-day online training, which took place this week set out to help organizations adapt their activities to the new operational realities that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The training focused on the changes that the NGOs must introduce into their internal organizational processes, on new approaches to the provision of services to victims, and on new formats of conducting communication and advocacy activities to prevent human trafficking.   

Among other things, the participants learnt how to organize remote work more effectively, which preventive measures they should take while working in the office, how to use video conferencing to communicate with beneficiaries and partners, how to leverage communication and advocacy work, and which opportunities exist to introduce more information and communication technologies in their operations.   

The training was supported by the Government of Norway.  

For further information please contact Joe Lowry at +43660 3776404. Email jlowry@iom.int

City of Dispatch: Ashgabat