The 11,000 arrivals in January was very much in line with average monthly arrivals in 2019.聽聽聽

Now, with COVID-19, migrant crossings to Yemen from the region have plunged, down almost 75 per cent since March, with the steepest decline seen in migrants arriving from Djibouti (96%) and Somalia (65%).聽聽聽

The COVID-19 pandemic鈥檚 disruption of migration has brought change to the seven Migration Response聽Centres, or MRCs, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) maintains in聽Djibouti,聽Ethiopia, Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland. The seven MRCs are designed to provide a lifeline for irregular migrants in distress. Typically, this includes those without聽food, who are sick or who have been abandoned by smugglers.聽聽聽聽

鈥淓xtra measures such as obligatory hand washing and keeping a reasonable distance are currently in place when migrants approach the聽centre,鈥� explained聽Wria聽Rashid, head of the IOM聽Bosasso聽sub-office, referring to the MRC in聽Bosasso, Puntland.聽聽聽

Services such as basic health checkups and screening, as well as referrals for shelter and medical assistance are continuing, funded through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa, one of the main聽programmes聽supporting聽MRCs.聽聽聽

Whereas before migrants visited MRCs for access to basic health services and migration information, since COVID-19 fewer are approaching MRCs for such services due to movement restrictions and fear of stigma.聽聽聽

At the MRC in聽Obock, Djibouti, IOM staff officials are noticing fewer children on the move, but no change in the type of migrant arriving聽鈥� mostly young Ethiopians aged 18 to 35.聽聽

Numbers are down significantly at the MRC in Hargeisa, Somaliland.聽鈥淒ue to border closure and restrictions, numbers have sharply decreased with minimum registrations at the MRC in Hargeisa. Movements are still taking place, in harsher and riskier conditions,鈥� said Carlotta聽Panchetti, Migrant Protection and Assistance Officer with IOM Somalia.聽聽聽聽

Salemat聽is a typical case. She has had to abandon her hope of getting to the Middle East and blames the tightening of travel restrictions. When the 18-year-old Ethiopian was聽stranded in聽Bosasso聽on her way to Yemen, she sought assistance at the MRC.聽聽聽

IOM staff checked聽Salemat鈥檚聽temperature and gave her latex gloves, a mask and awareness material in Amharic, her mother tongue. 鈥淢y greatest fear is to be infected with COVID-19,鈥� she explained. 鈥淏ut I can do nothing, I am just awaiting my predestination by Allah.鈥澛犅�

In聽Bosasso,聽MRC staff have bolstered outreach activities to informal settlements largely populated by migrants. IOM runs a hotline to let聽migrants聽phone in for on-the-spot information or to make appointments for arrange assisted voluntary return or access medical assistance. Between 20-30 calls are received each month; there was a slight uptick in May.