Second joint webinar by TB Europe Coalition and Regional Expert Group on Migration and Health
Tuesday 20th April 2021, 14:00 – 15:30 CEST
Currently the EU and EEA are home to over 10% of the worlds refugee population. The main drivers of this migration to the EU are conflict, political and/or economic instability, and climate change. The EU is also host to a 33 million labour migrants who account for 17% of the EU’s labour force.
Many migrants are fleeing countries with damaged and under-resourced healthcare systems and continue to face health challenges and often abuse when they undertake the long exhausting journeys to their host country, further increasing their vulnerability to ill-health. Once they arrive in their host country, they face additional challenges to accessing adequate healthcare services.
Within the EU and EEA, migrant population have the highest burden of TB and account for around 35% of TB infections within the region, ranging from less than 5% in Romania to over 80% in Sweden. European countries should therefore ensure universal health coverage for migrants, particularly irregular migrants, and a minimum package of cross-border TB control and care interventions including early diagnosis of TB and effective care for the duration of the treatment course. This is vital not only to respect human rights but also to reduce the burden of TB and contributing to the elimination of TB in the WHO region.
The coronavirus pandemic has further exacerbated many of the challenges faced by migrants, including difficulties entering or leaving the EU, violence at the border point, worsening conditions in the host countries and loss of income due to lockdowns. Therefore, the EU and member states should intensify efforts to establish an effective humanitarian and safe European migration policy in order to ensure the rights of migrants are respected.
The purpose for this webinar is to discuss policies put in place to address migrant health and TB; what challenges are faced by migrants in the EU in relation to health? What kind of support is available to migrants? How COVID-19 has affected health services delivery for migrants’ health?
Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uk5O4JJHRve5m_s3411QTw
Agenda:
- Introduction (Paul Sommerfeld, TBEC Chair)
- ECDC data and guidance on migrant health and infectious diseases (Teymur Noori, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)
- TB and Migrant Health in Europe (Jessica Porter, TBNET)
- Labour migration and TB in Poland (Olena Rzhepishevska, Umeå University, Sweden)
- Questions & Answers