Unequalled efforts to ensure equal access to healthcare
European Commission Director General for Health and Food Safety Xavier Prats Monne speaks about the Commission's efforts to improve the health of migrants and refugees, while helping Member States to strengthen their health systems to become more accessible, effective and resilient.
How has the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety been able to respond to the unprecedented influx of migrants and refugees since 2015?
Through projects funded under the 3rd Health Programme, the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety has been able to assist Member States with activities such as training health professionals, developing health care models for vulnerable migrants and integrating migrants in primary health care systems.
The Health Programme is a financial instrument that complements, supports and adds value to Member State policies. Its main objective is improving the health of EU citizens, but it also aims to reduce inequalities and boost the sustainability of health systems.
How much has been invested to assist migrants and refugees?
From the 3rd Health Programme, which runs from 2014 to 2020, €14.7 million was allocated in 2015 and 2016 for projects related to migrants' health. This year, some €4.5 million is being allocated to different activities, including a Joint Action on Health Inequalities and migrants' health.
What kind of inequalities are migrants and refugees up against?
Due to lack of knowledge of the system, social and economical disadvantages, language barriers and, sometimes stigma and other problems, migrants face wide inequalities in accessing both preventative care and treatment. The Commission is committed to getting to the root cause of these inequalities.
Stigma arises from the unfounded fear that refugees and migrants might bring in diseases to the EU. In fact, most refugees and migrants are in good health when they enter Europe, although they are often mentally and physically exhausted and frequently traumatized by both events back home and the arduous journeys they've made.
Although neither the Commission nor the WHO recommend that refugees or migrants undergo obligatory screenings for diseases, health checks at the entry points are strongly recommended to ensure that all refugees and migrants who need healthcare can get it, especially children, pregnant women, the elderly and victims of violence.
Does the Health Programme help fund these health checks?
The International Organisation for Migration received a direct grant through the Health Programme to conduct health assessments, conducting 4 275 of them in 2015 and 8 938 in 2016. Through another project, 2 459 newly arrived migrants received urgent individual health assessments and 49 707 physical health assessments were conducted. Through yet another project, 11 057 medical examinations were performed in Italy, the country EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker recently praised in his 13 September 2017 annual State of the Union as "saving Europe's reputation" for its handling of migrants and refugees'.
What is being done to integrate migrant and refugees into EU health systems?
The Commission's adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights last April was a big step in the right direction. Principle number 16 explicitly states that "everyone has the right to timely access to affordable, preventable and curative health care of good quality".
The Commission Action Plan on Integration of third countries nationals, approved in June 2016 also provides a framework for work on health. Numerous projects funded under the Health Programme are helping to make this possible, and many are listed in this edition of the Health-EU newsletter on Migrant Health.
What's the way forward?
The influx of refugees and other migrants entering Europe shows no sign of slowing down, and it remains a EU priority for action. The Commission will continue to support EU countries to make their health systems as accessible, efficient and resilient as possible. The "State of Health in the EU" package will help policy makers make evidence-based decisions on health policies and health spending, and this November, country health profiles of all 28 EU countries will be examined in an analytical paper linking the findings to the broader EU agenda. The ultimate goal? Equal access to healthcare ... for all.
Activities at EU level
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European Commission – Health and Food Safety |
News
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The event held by CHAFEA and the Commission's Directorate General for Health and Food Safety looked at EU actions to improve the health of vulnerable migrants, integrate refugees and migrants into national healthcare systems and train health professionals. |
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EU commitment will not wane, vows Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis Speaking at the 21 September 2017 Cluster Meeting on Refugees, the Commissioner vowed to continue to work with other Commissioners, Member States and stakeholders and to mobilise the Health Programme to support actions on migrants' health and integration. |
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The Migration and Health Knowledge Management project was launched in January 2017 to raise awareness, foster and disseminate knowledge, and encourage the adoption of migrant-health good practices and evidence-based approaches across the EU. |
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European Solidarity Corps marks first anniversary Some 36,294 people aged 18 to 30 from all Member States have joined the Corps since its launch last year. Some of these young people will work in health-related fields, and many are already assisting migrants and refugees in other ways, for example, by teaching languages. |