Protection and Assistance to VoTs and UASCs in Morocco According to the Moroccan MoI, in 2019, 74,000 attempts of irregular migration were aborted as part of the Kingdom of Morocco’s fight against irregular migration. Data from the 2020 report of the National Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons (NCCTIP), refers to the number of human trafficking cases that increased by more than 200% in 2018 and 96% in 2019. The eastern region of the country hosts a Associated with document Ref. Ares(2023)3539173 - 22/05/2023 Call: AMIF-2022-TF1-AG-RDPP-NA-IBA — RDPP-NA 2022 27 large share of the migrant population present in Morocco. The region is the pioneer in developing protection and assistance programmes targeting vulnerable migrant population. A lot of progress has been made in terms of access to health for migrants, in particular thanks to the work of civil society and notably MS2, health institutions, NGOs and IOs. However, some barriers related to access to the health care system still persist due to the socio-economic and cultural conditions of migrants, little involvement of communities in the responses provided and little involvement of local institutional actors in general.Additionally, a growing number of UASC on the move has been observed in Morocco. In 2020, 10,300 UASC or 62 % of all child arrivals in Europe were UASC. The Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe -  Overview of Trends, jointly published by IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF in 2020, estimates that most of the children that had arrived in Spain that year originated from Morocco, Mali, Algeria, and Senegal. In addition, the 2021 IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix that surveyed 852 migrants highlighted that the second main country of origin of migrants residing in Europe in 2021 was Morocco (84% of them being registered in Spain, and 14% of them in Italy). While no official statistics are available for Morocco on the number of UASC, the IOM UASC project financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, in its first phase (January 2018 – August 2019) alone had identified and assisted 1,249 UASC, and in its second phase (September 2019 – July 2022) identified 5,416 UASC. Moreover, through its staff in Oujda (borders with Algeria) IOM continues to identify the arrival of UASC from Guinea Bissau, Sudan, and other Sub- Saharan countries, which highlights the continuous arrival and increase of UASC in Morocco.The last attempt to cross the border between Nador and Melilla, in June 2022 has shown the impact of limited protection services, where CSOs have been overwhelmed to assist the increased number of migrants in need. The proposed project is an opportunity to decrease these challenges and advocate with national authorities based on evidence to strengthen the protection systems of vulnerable migrants including those in an irregular situation. The project aims to offer humanitarian assistance (medical assistance, distribution of Food Items (FI) and Non-Food Items (NFI), emergency accommodation, psychosocial support, and legal assistance to vulnerable migrants. The project’s specific objectives are based on studies and needs assessments performed during the implementation of the RDPP-NA/DeV Pillar projects whose findings have been shared with key actors working on the protection of vulnerable migrants where IOM participates or leads, such as the Group Thématique Protection (GTP) (with CSO in Oujda, Tanger, Casablanca and Fez), the Groupe Thématique Migration et Asile at the UN level, (GTMA) sous-Groupe Thématique Traite at the UN level (GTT) and (sous Groupe Thématique Enfant at the UN level) (GTE).Based on the above, the proposed intervention foresees:Overall Objective: Most vulnerable migrant groups are better protected in North Africa and along key migration corridorsSO1: National authorities and relevant stakeholders in North Africa and along key migration corridors are supported to meet their national objectives/international commitments in assisting vulnerable migrantsOutput 1.1: Vulnerable migrants have better access to specialized care and assistance.Output 1.2: Frontline actors and key stakeholders have enhance