Almaty, Kazakhstan — International Organization for Migration/The UN Migration Agency, Sub Regional Coordination Office for Central Asia, in partnership with UNFPA, conducted the Regional Thematic Workshop on “Migrants’ Right to Health and Access to Services” on September 4-5, 2017 in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.

The event gathered 55 participants from all five Central Asian countries to discuss migrants’ access to social services primarily addressing medical and psychological services and to identify patterns of migration decision-making, migration experiences and health risks among migrant workers, analyze the roles and responsibilities of government, social partners and private sector and promote migrant workers’ rights and access to health according to international standards. Participants included long-standing partners and new stakeholders from the healthcare sector, migration authorities, academia institutions and NGOs.

During the event, the participants recognized that there are policy gaps in addressing the health needs of migrants and members of their families and there is a need to improve regional cooperation and cross border collaboration. They concluded that “migrant-friendly” services and intersectoral approach need to be promoted in countries of origin, transit and destination. The discussions also identified that there is no monitoring system of the migrant health in the region. Development of data collection, data exchange is needed to understand the health needs of migrants and raise migrants’ awareness on their right to health and access to healthcare services.

The event was organized within the framework of the IOM program «Addressing Migration Movements through Capacity Building in Central Asia» Phase III (2016-2017) funded by the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM-PIM USA) and was built upon the findings and recommendations of the regional assessment of the 2017 IOM Development Fund led project “Towards an Effective Migrants’ Right to Health in Central Asia: Assisting Governments in Enhancing the Provision of Health Services for Migrants” and the regional assessment on “Migrant Children’s Rights and Access to Healthcare Services” funded by PRM-PIM USA.

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For the additional information you can contact IOM Sub-regional coordination office for Central Asia at: +77272582240 (ext. 104) or iomalmaty@iom.int 

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