Launch of the project “Fostering integration by addressing Health Equity” – 26 October 2017, Lisbon, Portugal
On 26 October 2017, IOM Lisbon with the participation of IOM Migration Health Department Regional Office Brussels will launch the project “Fostering integration by addressing Health Equity” and in particular, its component on Health Equity. In addition, the tool of the Standards for Equity in Health Care, developed by the Task Force Migrant-Friendly and Culturally Competent Health and care (TF MFCCH), with whom IOM is cooperating with, will also be presented.
The meeting will count with the participation of the Directorate-General of Health and the High Commissioner for Migration in Portugal, as well as around 60 representatives from regional health authorities, health service providers, civil society organisations, and academia.
Representatives from the Belgian Ministry of Health and Finish health authorities, two of the 16 countries and 55 health care organisations that have implemented the Equity Health Care Standards will share their experience.
The project has the overall objective to contribute to better integration by ensuring more equitable health care to migrants through policy, strategy and promoting effective practices within the health services and migrant communities. Particularly, the projects aims to apply the Equity Standards to improve responsiveness of the health services to diversity and migrants’ health needs through focus groups with representatives of migrant communities, and policy workshops together with health services.
The organization level standards, complement to the national and regional policy level MIPEX health, steered within the IOM/EC project EQUI-HEALTH, Fostering health provision for migrants, the Roma, and other vulnerable groups in 2013-2016, will be used within the project as a guided self-assessment tool by the Health Care Services.
In addition, the capacity building component is built on the Migration and Health for health professionals training programme developed and implemented within the EC/IOM project EQUI-HEALTH, aiming at improving access and quality of health services for migrants.
The project is funded under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and by the General Directorate of Health. The ISCTE (Lisbon University Institute), Regional Health Administrations, and DGS are partners in the project, which will be implemented in collaboration with the High Commission for Migration, municipalities, primary health care, experts from the academia, as well as migrant associations in Portugal.
The launch event will be followed by a meeting of the Steering Committee with project partners to kick start implementation and planning of next steps.
Project's info sheet here.