Local governance models for the provision of health and socio-economic services for migrants and refugees in Europe - 17 November 2017 within the Global Conference on Cities and Migration in Mechelen, Belgium

IOM MHD and LHD RO Brussels and IOM Rome jointly organized the side event on “Local governance models for the provision of health and socio-economic services for migrants and refugees in Europe”, as part of the Global Conference on Cities and Migration in Mechelen, Belgium.

The side event, divided into two panels, intended to showcase different local governance models in the provision of socio-economic and health services for migrants and refugees in Europe, focus on integration outcomes, integration policies, and other contextual factors.

MHD RO Brussels moderated the side event panel on “Governance Models promoting a holistic approach to migrant health”, in which representatives from the Syracuse-Local Health Authority and the City Council of Chios, Greece shared their experiences and approaches to migrant health, including the implementation of activities under the EC/IOM Re-Health2 action and electronic Personal Health Record (e-PHR) as an example of model for the provision of health services for migrants and refugees.

A second panel on “Governance models in the provision of socio-economic services for the integration of migrants in Europe” was moderated by LHD RO Brussels. In this panel representatives from the municipalities of Warsaw and Palma shared their experience and models on socio-economic services on migrants’ integration and showcased the practices of the EC/IOM Admin4all project.

The Global Conference on Cities and Migration 16-17 November 2017, organized by the City of Mechelen, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Belgian Federal Government, and in coordination with IOM, UCLG and UN-Habitat, aimed to combine current thinking around international migration and sustainable urban development in order to contribute to the implementation of the urban dimensions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goal 11, which has been designed to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Representatives from other municipalities from different countries also shared their experiences in other relevant migrant related issues, including human rights, implementation of migration-related commitments of the New Urban Agenda, social integration, migrant smuggling as well as sustainable urban development.

The Mechelen declaration was adopted during the conference and can be found here.

More information available here.