The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a health emergency, it also represents a humanitarian and human rights crisis, which has highlighted the inequality gaps that exist among the population, for this reason different governments have implemented measures to address the challenges and mitigate the effects of the pandemic to the most vulnerable people, particularly the migrant population.

As part of the UN Country Team’s inter-agency response and in coordination with the General Directorate of Migration and Aliens (DGME), the IOM, with the support of various projects and donors, has given each returnee who complies with the period established by the authorities, supermarket vouchers of $50 (first round) and $60 (second round) as an immediate measure of economic support. However, it is clear that this is not enough and that the development of programs to support the restitution of their livelihoods is fundamental to achieve a reintegration that guarantees human development. In view of this, IOM presents the preliminary report of the Livelihood Survey to the government of El Salvador and its counterparts, with the objective of generating information for the development of support programs for migrants and their families upon their arrival to their country of origin.

The aforementioned report was developed in two phases; in the following reference periods and locations:

• Phase 1: from April 13 to May 18, 2020; at the exit of the quarantine centers managed by MINSAL with the support of DGME.
• Phase 2: October 6 to 27, 2020; at the facilities of the International Airport of El Salvador “San Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdámez”.

In both phases, the IOM implemented strict biosecurity protocols to safeguard the individual and collective health of the actors involved.