[ad_1]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that Europe needed to guarantee migrants better access to medical care and highlighted huge disparities in access to health services in different countries.
"To improve the health of their migrants, it is important to bridge the gap in access to basic care," said Santino Severoni, head of the WHO Migration and Health Program.
In the WHO Europe region, which covers 53 countries, migrants account for nearly 10% of the population, or 90.7 million people out of 920 million inhabitants.
But this proportion varies considerably from one country to another: migrants make up 45% of the Maltese population, against 2% in Albania, for example.
Depending on the country and the status of migrants, they may have full access to the health system or not at all.
In 15 European countries, including Austria, Turkey and Great Britain, asylum seekers have access to the same care as the local population, whereas in Germany and Hungary they do not Are entitled only to emergency care.
"People, and some governments, have reacted emotionally to newcomers because of the lack of information and data," said Severoni.
Contrary to what some might think, "there is a very low risk (…) of transmission of communicable diseases from the refugee and migrant population to the host population," he said.
The biggest risk to health concerns the migrants themselves, as a large proportion of HIV-positive migrants do not contract the disease until after they arrive in Europe, Severoni said.
Depression and anxiety
Newcomers are also more likely to develop chronic illnesses because of their new lifestyle – less physical activity and too much fast food – and the poverty that some people encounter.
Cancer tends to be diagnosed at a later stage among migrants, which may make treatment more difficult, the report said, while migrant children are more likely to be overweight and have psychological problems than their counterparts. peers from the host country.
Refugees and migrants are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, the WHO added.
This was due to a combination of risk factors, including the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among refugees experiencing perilous travel, as well as lengthy asylum application procedures and socio-economic conditions. difficult, such as unemployment, poverty and isolation.
Studies estimate that 40% of refugees from the European region of WHO with PTSD also suffer from depression, the report said.
The stigma of mental illness among these groups tends to influence their decision to seek help, which can lead to higher hospitalization rates.
[ad_2]
Source link
