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Seoul – The IOM Republic of Korea (ROK) Mission, with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), hosted the ‘Webinar on Remote Management and Monitoring in the context of COVID-19’ on 6 October 2020.

The webinar was attended by approximately 120 practitioners from ROK NGOs and government agencies engaged in overseas humanitarian assistance. The webinar aimed to provide timely support for ROK humanitarian actors who are impacted by the ongoing pandemic challenges, including mobility restrictions but have less experience in operating with limited access to the field.

After opening remarks from Jiyoon Kim, Director of  Multilateral Cooperation & Humanitarian Assistance, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the webinar kicked off by introducing IOM’s experience from the field in adopting remote management and monitoring for humanitarian assistance in the COVID-19 context and lessons learned for the ROK humanitarian community. Mihyung Park, former Head of Office of IOM ROK and current Chief of Mission, IOM Vietnam, moderated the webinar sessions and Q&As.

“Remote management and monitoring are important strategies that can prevent the disruption of humanitarian services and ensure the quality of humanitarian assistance despite the COVID-19. In this regard, this webinar cannot be timelier and more appropriate not only for field practitioners but also for the wider humanitarian community of ROK, considering the increasing presence and importance of ROK humanitarian assistance in all major crises,” said Park in her opening remarks. 

The webinar started with a session delivered by Ewa Naqvi, Deputy Chief of Mission of IOM Somalia. Naqvi introduced the basic principles of remote management and monitoring and presented the case of IOM Somalia.

The specific components of remote management, such as communication coordination strategies, the delegation of authorities, and risk management, were highlighted throughout the presentation.

The next session was presented by Consuelo Tangara, Site Management Area Coordinator of IOM Bangladesh. Tangara shed light on how remote management and monitoring has been strategically applied to IOM’s Rohingya response to overcome movement restriction challenges and continue in essential operations in the camp. Based on their own experiences, both presenters subsequently shared recommendations on successfully implementing remote management and monitoring in the situation of COVID-19.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated humanitarian crises by posing multiple complications to access and delivery of services to the most vulnerable. The current pandemic requires more strategic thinking as well as tighter cooperation among international and local actors to meet the increasing demand for humanitarian assistance while mitigating any risks of spreading the virus among the population we intend to serve. Remote management, if well-planned and executed, can be one of the most effective strategies to achieve this goal,” said Naqvi.

The webinar wrapped up with a live Q&A session whereby attendees could ask questions directly to the presenters and gain additional know-how to explore the application of remote management in their own programmes.  

Since 2015, IOM ROK has taken an important role in providing a wide range of capacity-building support for ROK humanitarian actors with funding support from US Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).

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For more information please contact Eunice Jieun KIM, IOM Republic of Korea Mission, Tel.: +82 70 4820 0291, Email: jikim@iom.int.