Health of migrants: Resetting the agenda - Report of the 2nd Global Consultation Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21-23 February 2017

Author/s: Julia Puebla Fortier, Davide Mosca, Jacqueline Weekers, Eliana Barragan, Julie Bauer
Year:
Language: English
Publication Type: Event Proceedings(External)

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Description
The 2017 Global Consultation on Migrant Health was convened as a follow-up to the 1st Global Consultation on Migrant Health, held in 2010, in response to the renewed international attention to the health needs of migrants through agenda-setting on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Universal Health Coverage, and other global health priorities. Informed by the Operational Framework from the 2010 Consultation, Member States, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have taken action on a variety of initiatives that have advanced programs, policy and research related to migrant health. IOM, WHO and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka jointly organized the 2nd Global Consultation on Migrant Health in February 2017 to offer Member States and partners a platform to:
  • share lessons learned, good practices, and research on the health needs of migrants, and to identify gaps, opportunities and new challenges;
  • reach consensus on key policy strategies and benchmarks to create a unified agenda on the health of migrants, for both acute large-scale displacement and long-term, economic and disparity-driven migration;
  • engage multisectoral partner s at a policy level for a sustained international dialogue and an enabling policy environment for change.
This consultation report summarizes the issues discussed at the consultation and offers recommendations related to the meeting’s intended outcomes. Parts 1, 2 and 3 offer the proceedings of the three-day consultation, starting with context-setting presentations by the organizers. Plenary sessions addressed the three thematic areas: Health, Health Systems and Global Health, Vulnerability and Resilience, and Development, and breakout groups discussed the issues raised by the presenters related to the three expected outcomes: actionable policy objectives, a progress monitoringframework, and a research agenda. 
 
Part 4 summarizes the recommendations developed by the breakout groups for each of the three outcomes, led by a statement of principles derived from the cross-cutting themes. For each outcome, the recommendations address priority areas for action and highlight any special considerations or concerns.
 
Part 5 places the work of the consultation in the context of upcoming global dialogues on migration and refugees. In the Way Forward session, representatives from IOM, UNHCR and WHO described how health can fit into the upcoming development of the Global Compacts for safe, orderly and regular migration and refugees, and offered a timeline for the implementation of the WHO 2017 EB decision, including the development of a WHO Framework of priorities and guiding principles to promote the health of refugees and migrants, and a global action plan. This section also includes a summary of the High-level Panel on the Colombo Statement, which expresses governments’ support to promote the health of migrants at a multisectoral level, endorsed by 19 Member States.
 
Finally, the report contains excerpts of the three thematic papers on Health, Health Systems and Global Health, Vulnerability and Resilience, and Development; the text of key speeches; the Colombo Statement; and other relevant material.
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IOM