"Thanks to IOM’s help, I was able to overcome my disability"

Born to a Guinean father and Sierra Leonean mother, Ousmane had a serious accident in Guinea at the age of 44 that radically changed the course of his life: "I had to leave my country urgently to come to Morocco to treat my leg. A few days before his departure to his home country, Ousmane was relieved to have overcome all the difficulties he had to face after his accident: "I was admitted to the Avicenne hospital in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, where the doctors told me that they had no choice but to amputate my leg .... I was devastated at the time!’’ Six months later, the doctors proceeded with the operation to amputate his leg: "From then on, I had to stay in Morocco to receive the necessary care that followed the operation!" 
Once the treatment and follow-up were finished at the hospital, Ousmane had to return to Guinea because it was very difficult for him to stay in Morocco and look for a job: "At first I went to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but since I was not eligible for refugee status, they recommended that I go to the IOM office in Rabat’’. 

Implemented for four decades by the IOM, the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) program offers migrants in vulnerable and distressed situations humanitarian, administrative, logistical and financial assistance to return voluntarily to their country of origin. In 2021, in Morocco, IOM and its partners were able to organize the safe and dignified return of 2,377 migrants, 666 of whom were from Guinea. 
"For about a year, IOM Morocco assisted and supported me in all aspects: medicines, emergency accommodation, food and of course the prosthesis for my leg! .... You have to know that during this year, after my operation, I was left to my own devices! That's why I would say that to me IOM was like a father or a mother by my side", says Ousmane. 

Depending on their vulnerabilities, individuals enrolled in the voluntary return program receive pre-return assistance in the form of medical care, food and non-food support, shelter, and assistance with administrative procedures. In 2021, 2,389 people who applied for assisted voluntary return and reintegration from Morocco received medical assistance and 247 received emergency shelter assistance. 
"On the eve of my departure, my main concern is to be able to find a shelter once I return and continue my treatment as well as provide for my needs..." he says with a worried tone. After his surgery, Ousmane cannot walk long distances despite his prosthesis. "I have no choice but to open a small business that doesn't require a lot of travel or movement. I am thinking particularly of selling underwear or a small bar around the corner because these activities are doing well in the country.

[IOM has established a framework of intervention for migrants in situations of particular vulnerability (unaccompanied or separated children, migrants with health needs, potential trafficked migrants) which allows to identify the risks linked to these vulnerabilities and to adapt the responses to better ensure the accompaniment and protection of these migrant categories throughout the voluntary return process. 
IOM in Morocco works closely with national and local partner institutions to provide humanitarian, logistical, administrative and financial assistance to stranded or distressed migrants wishing to voluntarily return to their countries of origin.

[The medical assistance as well as the voluntary return assistance were made possible by the financial support of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Swiss Confederation].