HealthManagement, Volume 2 / Issue 3 2007

One of the main initiatives of the Portuguese EU Council Presidency in the field of Health was to organise a European Conference at Lisbon in late September on “Health and Migration in the EU - Better Health for All in an Inclusive Society”. Member States, national and international institutions as well as NGOs were invited to present strategies and intervention policies to increase access of migrants to health care, health promotion and disease prevention.

 

Four main objectives shaped the content of the Conference:

î To assess international migration flows in the 21st century and their impact in the EU’s demography and economy;

î To improve the knowledge of migrants’ health status and health determinants (based on the demographic dynamics of the migratory process and its impact, the specific political and legal frameworks at both national and international levels, as well as the socio-economic integration of migrant families);

î To identify good practices about migrants’ access to health services (health promotion, prevention and access to care), including formal and informal care, as well as social and cultural activities aimed at facilitating inclusion;

î To contribute to the definition of health policies and strategies aimed at improving migrants’ integration, which could be implemented at both EU and Member States levels.

 

Based on the above factors, one of the expected outcomes of the Conference is to establish a Network of key experts in Public Health/Health and Migration (in collaboration with DG SANCO). Furthermore, the results of the two-day programme (including parallel sessions and round tables/debates on mobility, public health, information systems, health promotion) is due to be published in two technical reports on “Health and Migration in the EU”.

 

For further information, please visit: http://www.eu2007.min-saude.pt


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