From emergency response to long-term inclusion policies in refugee and migrant health: learning from the Turkish experience during the 2019 Summer School on Refugee and Migrant Health
From emergency response to long-term... 1
The School took place from 15 to 19 July 2019 in Çeşme, Turkey, and was opened by Piroska Östlin (Acting Regional Director of WHO Regional Office for Europe), Santino Severoni (Acting Director, Division of Health System and Public Health, and Coordinator Migration and Health programme, WHO Regional Office for Europe), Pavel Ursu (WHO Representative to Turkey) and Mehmet Burak Öztop and Fatih Kara (representatives of the Ministry of Health of Turkey). The School was organized by the Migration and Health programme in collaboration with the WHO Country Office in Turkey, the Health Emergency and Communicable Disease Division, the International Organization for Migration, the European Public Health Association and Ministry of Health of Turkey.
From emergency response to long-term... 2
Participants included high-level health sector and government officials, health sector managers, policy-makers from both the health and the non-health sectors, public health experts and staff of international and nongovernmental organizations, as well as researchers, doctoral candidates and academics with interest in the area of migration and health. The School had over 40 speakers and experts in the field.
From emergency response to long-term... 3
The theme of this year’s School was “From emergency response to long-term inclusion policies”. The School was organized with the support of the Ministry of Health of Turkey, which has a wealth of experience in integrating refugee communities into the health system, and with the participation of speakers working in the refugee health training centres; both of which strengthened the School's impact.
From emergency response to long-term... 4
Summer School participants also explored experiences from several other countries hosting refugees and migrants. Sharing of country experiences was facilitated through interactive workshops.
From emergency response to long-term... 5
Host to this year's Summer School, Turkey, has shown how long-term structural policies can help to build a migrant-sensitive response towards universal health coverage. The Turkish response has been underpinned by humanitarian principles accompanied by adaptation of the health system in a long-term and sustainable fashion.
From emergency response to long-term... 6
All participants were invited to the coast guard vessel to hear a briefing about the operations of the Turkish Coast Guard, including its search and rescue operations. The National Medical Rescue Teams organized a live simulation of a triage onshore to demonstrate how further medical aid is provided.
From emergency response to long-term... 7
The all-day field trip included a visit to a health facility of the Ministry of Health serving Syrian refugees. It offered participants first-hand knowledge and experience of how the authorities in Turkey manage the public health challenges related to migration with service provider and user involvement.