This thesis, written by Baghir-Zada, Ramin, deals with illegal aliens in Sweden and the Netherlands with the main focus on health aspects. The three-fold aim is to investigate emergence of healthcare wants among illegal aliens, how they satisfy these wants (if they do so at all), and to explore the relation between their healthcare wants and health wants. Extensive fieldwork was conducted in both countries, including 42 interviews with illegal aliens in Sweden - and 38 in the Netherlands.

A pregnant asylum seeker, mother of three, died in a reception centre in worrying circumstances. One asylum seeker of the centre: "She had been sick for two weeks. With her husband, she had been trying to get an appointment with the doctor. The doctor holds a daily consultation in the centre for half an hour. Some do the queue for 1 ½ hour to see the doctor. She was suffering so much that she could not stay there and wait that long. The doctor was asked to go and see her. But that was not possible, she had to wait for an appointment. She could not eat or drink but the doctor did not have time for her."

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Centraal Orgaan Opvang Asielzoekers (COA) said that all procedures had been followed and that an investigation will take place to find out how this could happen. Some MPs asked for a study on access to health care for asylum seekers in reception centres, to find out what the structural shortcomings in the procedures are.

The Dutch Council for Refugees and seven other organizations published an appeal to the new government which will be formed after the elections to improve the reception conditions for asylum seekers and their children. The main requests include that quality of care for asylum seekers should be improved.

Sources:

- Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland, 'Oproep aan nieuwe Kabinet: verbeter opvang asielzoekers!'

- ECRE Weekly Bulletin, 4 June 2010

In a recent position paper, ECPAT-NL and UNICEF-NL condemn the systematic return of separated children who don't qualify for asylum to reception houses in the country of origin. This policy is led by the Netherlands and followed by other Member States such as Norway, Denmark, the UK and Sweden. However, ECPAT-NL and UNICEF-NL underline the necessity of proving on the basis of an individual assessment whether or not the child's well-being can be guaranteed if s/he is sent back: "it is necessary to make an individual assessment to decide whether a durable solution is to return to the country of origin or integration in the country of residence."

On 27 January, the minister reacted to the publication "Niet vergeten!", handed over to him in December by MDM Netherlands, and in which he admits that information provided by support organisations will be taken into account when monitoring the access to healthcare of undocumented migrants. The full-text is available here.

On 28 January, the Commission of health care of the second Chamber had a general meeting with the minister. MPs asked questions about access for undocumented migrants, on dental care, and on the way of monitoring by CVZs (which are in charge of carrying out the financial regulation of 2009). The minister rejected concerns that removing dental care from the list of "necessary care" that can be reimbursed would lead to serious dental health problems. The Minister also promised that more attention would be paid to ensure that hospital staff is aware of the obligation to provide necessary care. The full-text is available here

NIVEL (for Nederlands instituut voor onderzoek van de gezondheidszorg, or 'Netherlands Institute for Health Care Research') has published an update of its ongoing research on access to health care for undocumented migrants in the Netherlands. NIVEL asked health care providers what changes they anticipated as a result of the new rules for the financing of assistance to undocumented migrants, which came into effect in January 2009. While most care providers appeared to have become more willing to assist the undocumented, general practitioners received a disproportionate number of undocumented patients. The full report, titled "Toegankelijkheid van gezondheidszorg voor 'illegalen' in Nederland: een update", is available here.

Source: Picum newsletter, November 2009.

On Thursday 15 October 2009, Dokters van de Wereld (MDM Netherlands) organizes a congress on the theme ‘Duty to give care is under pressure!’ which will be discussed from a medical/ethical, financial and juridical point of view.