Regional Hub on Migration and Health: Empowering Stakeholders to Bridge Gaps in Health Care Access and Advocacy
In August 2023, more than 80,000 migrants crossed the Darién jungle, a particularly perilous stretch of jungle connecting Colombia and Panama, the highest monthly figure ever recorded. As the only land passage from South America to Central America, this narrow passage of jungle is often the only route for migrants moving from south to north, a visible marker of the shifting migration patterns in the region.
Along the way, migrants face a number of challenges. Among the most urgent is access to health-care services with migrants in vulnerable circumstances facing less favourable health outcomes than host populations.
The realization of universal health coverage (UHC) requires innovative, evidence-based policies and sustainable financial mechanisms that emphasize whole-of society and whole-of-government actions. Being and staying healthy is a fundamental precondition for migrants to be productive and contribute to the social and economic development of communities of origin and destination. To achieve UHC, migrants cannot be left behind. COVID-19 highlighted how the inclusion of all people, including migrants, is necessary to protect Health for All, and demonstrated the importance of not leaving anyone behind in policy and practice related to health and social protection.
However, according to IOM estimates, less than half of all states globally (43 per cent) grant migrants access to health care services irrespective of legal status. While some progress has been made toward the provision of universal health care in North, Central and South America, the region remains characterized by uneven access to health care.
Despite the existence of legal frameworks mandating universal access to health care, migrants are often excluded from integration into national health care systems, contributing to widening inequalities in the region. Barriers can include complex administrative requirements, limited knowledge of services available and rights to access health care, affordability and the risk of being detained or deported due to immigration status.
Policies often prioritize migration enforcement and do not always consider other factors such as migrants’ access to health care and broader societal goals relating to their empowerment and inclusion. The need for trained government officials at the regional level and NGOs that advocate for migrants’ rights to health care is therefore vital.
With support from the IOM Development Fund, the “Establishment of a Regional Migration and Health Capacity-Building Hub in Mexico” initiative seeks to enhance migrants’ access to health care in the region. IOM Mexico has been working in collaboration with the Ibero-American University (IAU) to establish a Regional Capacity-Building Hub on Migration and Health (RCBH-MH) that contributes towards this aim by developing the capacities of Member States and NGOs on issues related to migration and health.
The Regional Hub and its parallel academic programme were launched in Mexico City on 8 September 2023. The academic programme includes five courses that integrate the expertise and voices of 19 academics from 10 prestigious institutions such as IAU, Red Chilena de Investigación en Salud y Migración, Columbia University and El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, among others.
The programme is designed for professionals who provide care to migrant populations, as well as professionals in the areas of health, social sciences, humanities and other related areas. The courses are virtual and deployed asynchronously to empower stakeholders to learn at their own pace. Each course is composed of different modules which contain readings, audiovisual materials and discussion forums.
“This academic programme, designed and piloted by IBERO and IOM, has involved a full linkage of academic, operational and institutional collaboration processes, to which members of governmental entities, the private sector and civil society organizations are added as participants, that is, as agents of change in training. The training process that IBERO and IOM have designed seeks to mitigate social inequalities in terms of the rights of migrants and their access to health, which is not a minor issue due to the alarming conditions of personal, institutional and structural violence they suffer.”
Dr. Graciela Teruel Belismelis, Divisional Director of Social Studies, Ibero-American University in Mexico City
These actors will be trained by the RCBH-MH and acquire practical tools with the goal of strengthening policies and programmes in their respective countries. These professionals will play an important role, not only in filling the existing gaps that restrict migrants from accessing health services, but also advocating for migrants’ health rights.
This ultimately aims to strengthen the capacities of states and NGOs in the region with regard to migrant health care in five key areas. These include: basic concepts of migration in Latin America; the right to health in migrant populations from a gender perspective; health, surveillance, monitoring and outbreak preparedness in contexts of mobility; methodological bases for the diagnosis and design of health interventions and border management with migrant populations; and mental and psychosocial health of populations in mobility.
“A key aspect of this effort is the active role of the teachers and other experts who collaborated in the development and revision of the contents of the academic programme, ‘Migration and Health: Strengthening capacities’, from a human right, gender-sensitive, community and people-centred approach. This has made the programme hosted at the regional Hub high quality and has embedded the necessary expertise to address such a complex issue.”
Jeremy MacGillivray, Deputy Representative of IOM Mexico
The Regional Hub is currently focusing on the programme’s sustainability strategies and financial model to ensure its long-term implementation through the identification of financial support. This has also involved training key personnel and the development of plans to expand the scope of the Hub across the region through Health Ministries, NGOs and other interested stakeholders. The goal is to empower these key stakeholders to continue effectively utilizing the knowledge and skills acquired through the RCBH-MH to expand health care access for migrants across the region.
