PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Speakers and participants discussed the fact many EU countries lacked clear regulations on access to health care for undocumented migrants. As a result, many migrants were not receiving urgently needed care. To encourage undocumented migrants to have greater confidence in health services, calls were made for legislation that prohibits individual officials in these institutions from reporting them to the police.
- Undocumented migrants’ access to health care in Sweden
MDM Sweden organised a conference on 23 February in Stockholm, focusing on “Undocumented migrants’ access to health care: how is the discussion ahead of the 2010 elections?” Different panels, in which all the main political parties were represented, discussed the issue from a national but also local perspective. The media were also given the opportunity to have their say, with, for some of these, a more provocative approach. More information on www.huma-network.org soon.
The World Health Organization and International Organization for Migration, along with the government of Spain, have sponsored a conference in Madrid to explore ways to improve the health of migrants. The two agencies said that while many of the approximately 214 million international migrants and 740 million internal migrants worldwide are healthy, some – particularly undocumented migrants, people forced to migrate due to natural or man-made disasters, and victims of trafficking – are often exploited and suffer physical and mental abuse.
“The right to health applies to all migrants, irrespective of their migratory status. We therefore need to define minimum standards of access to health care based on fundamental human rights and sound public health policies and practices. This requires strong partnerships across sectors and between countries where migrants leave from, transit through or are received,” said Davide Mosca, Director of the Migration Health Department at IOM.
"Access of migrants to health care has become of paramount importance to rights-based health systems and to public efforts aimed at reducing health inequities,” said Mr. Lopez Acuna, the Director of Strategy, Policy and Resource Management at WHO’s Health Action in Crisis Cluster.