Project: Research on Referral Mechanisms Available to Labour Migrants Returning to Bangladesh
Partner: Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)
Services: Research on gap finding; report preparation and submission; policy brief development.
Duration: June 2021 to October 2021
CAFOD implements a project in consortium with Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP) and Caritas Bangladesh, funded by the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS) and the Norwegian government (Norad). As per the evidence found by the project baseline- despite the huge demand for services from returnee migrants, very few of them receive referrals or support on return. This suggests that there are considerable gaps in the existing referral system and mechanisms. CAFOD wanted to carry out a research and analysis on the existing referral mechanisms available to migrant workers on return to Bangladesh with the support of DEVCOM. DEVCOM reviewed the experience of returnee migrant workers in this project to understand how the existing referral mechanism functions in reality. Moreover, they provided recommendations based on the research data.
The following activities were conducted by DEVCOM as a part of the research:
- Analyzing the existing referral mechanisms and how they are accessed by returnee migrants in Bangladesh, including medical care, mental health support, shelter services, legal aid and economic reintegration support.
- Documenting experiences of returnee migrants with referral mechanisms to understand gaps and challenges in the existing system.
- Developing concrete, realistic, and evidence-based recommendations to improve referral mechanisms in Bangladesh.