Migration Health

Addressing migration health with attention to vulnerable individuals is an indispensable part of the integration of migrants and refugees in the Member State Health Systems and in society as a whole.

“Re-Health2 – Implementation of the Personal Health Record as a tool for integration of migrants and refugees in EU health systems” is an IOM MHD -EC DG SANTE (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety) action in the programmatic area of health promotion and assistance for migrants. It falls under the work of the Migration Health Division and, thus, aims at advocating and assisting Member-States in providing access to healthcare and promote evidence-based migration health policies. Overall, Re-Health2 activities facilitate the strengthening of migrant and refugee-friendly and inclusive health systems.

Re-Health was launched in February 2016 and was created in order to promote health assessments and continuity of care for migrants by preserving an updated electronic personal health record (e-PHR and ensuring continuity of care. The action Re-Health was developed further to evidence gathered within the previous IOM MHD-DG SANTE action: Equi-Health. So far over 6500 e-PHR have been performed in Croatia, Greece, Italy, Serbia and Slovenia, within Re-Health2 e-PHR implementation sites have been added in Cyprus.

Based on the National Action Plan for Cyprus developed by IOM Cyprus in collaboration with National Authorities (Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior), three groups will benefit from the use of e-PHR:

Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants who either reside in Kofinou Reception and Accommodation Centre for Applications for International Protection, Kokkinotrimitihia Temporary Open Reception Centre, or visitors of Health Centres in Nicosia, Kofinou, Larnaca/ Famagusta, Limassol and Paphos. Health Professionals working with Migrants Health Mediators provided by IOM in close coordination with National Authorities.

 

For more information on the Re-HealthProject visit http://re-health.eea.iom.int

TandEm

Youth is one of the most dynamic and subtle groups in every society, well placed to pioneer new approaches to build more cohesive communities. Youth make a significant part of the third country nationals (TCN) resident population in Southern Europe and are increasingly represented in Southern European Universities. However, their higher educational attainment is lower than that of nationals and they are also more likely to be ‘early leavers’ from education than their European peers.

Universities represent one of the first contexts in which one’s self-identity is constructed as an adult. Supporting the integration of foreign students in Southern European Universities can, therefore, help in deconstructing negative narratives around migration, while empowering migrant youth to work together with their European peers to build new common identities and more cohesive and fair communities.

TandEM: Towards Empowered Migrant Youth in Southern Europe, is a regional project implemented in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain and targets migrant youth in formal and non-formal learning contexts (e.g. Universities, student associations), emphasizing youth’s multiple forms of identification to combat prejudice, intolerance and exclusion.

The general objective of the project is to foster the active engagement of young third country nationals and their Southern European peers in building more inclusive societies in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain. Specifically, the project aims to:

  • Enable young migrants’ active participation in shaping the discourse about migration and diversity in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.
  • Foster the access to and integration of young migrants into more inclusive higher education in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.
  • Foster a Southern European approach to the integration of young migrants in higher education through the exchange of knowledge and good practices across the program countries.

The project is based on four main pillars:

  • Regional and national social media campaigns, empowering young people to define their own narrative on migration, deconstructing inaccurate perceptions and fighting xenophobia and intolerance. This will include the organization of a series of social media contests designed to highlight the multiple identities of migrants youth in Southern Europe, as well as challenges and opportunities for their integration.
     
  • Regional Study on the barriers to access to higher education, mapping the challenges to integration of foreign students in Southern European Universities, leading to recommendations for national governments, universities, international organizations and migrants students themselves.
     
  • Interreligious dialogues, to be organized in partner Universities to foster inter-religious and intercultural understanding among students and young people, fighting Islamophobia and intolerance.
     
  • Student mentorship programs, to support the active inclusion of foreign students within selected Universities in Italy and Spain, creating networks of support of local students for migrants youth.
     

For more information visit the TandEm Cyprus website  and on Facebook and Instagram.

The project is funded by the European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and is implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the European University Association (EUA) and the Comunità Religiosa Islamica Italiana (COREIS).