120.876 Guiding Principles for the Healthcare of Migrants
MSSNY will advocate for the development of adequate policies and/or legislation to address the healthcare needs of migrants and asylum seekers in cooperation with relevant legislators and stakeholders based on the following guiding principles, adapted from the High-level meeting of the Global Consultation on Migrant Health, i.e. the “Colombo Statement”.
MSSNY recognizes that migration status is a social determinant of health. and be it further
MSSNY affirms the importance of multi-sectoral coordination and inter-country engagement and partnership in enhancing the means of addressing health aspects of migration.
MSSNY recognizes that the enhancement of migrants’ health status relies on an equitable and non-discriminatory access to and coverage of health care and cross-border continuity of care at an affordable cost avoiding severe financial consequences for migrants, as well as for their families.
MSSNY recognizes that investment in migrant health provides positive dividends compared to public health costs due to exclusion and neglect, and therefore underscore the need for financing mechanisms that mobilize different sectors of society, innovation, identification and sharing of good practices in this regard.
MSSNY recognizes that the promotion of the physical and mental health of migrants as defined by the following select objectives from the World Health Organization’s 72nd World Health Assembly, Global action plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, 2019-2023, is accomplished by:
- Ensuring that essential components, such as vaccination of children and adults and the provision of health promotion, disease prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation and palliative services for acute, chronic and infectious diseases, injuries, mental and behavioral disorders, and sexual and reproductive health care for women, are addressed.
- Improving the quality, acceptability, availability and accessibility of health care services, for instance by overcoming physical, financial, information, linguistic and other cultural barriers, with particular attention to services for chronic conditions and mental health, which are often inadequately addressed or followed up during the migration and displacement process, and by working to prevent occupational and work-related diseases and injuries among migrant workers and their families by improving the coverage, accessibility and quality of occupational and primary health care services and social protection systems.
- Ensuring that the social determinants of migrants’ health are addressed through joint, coherent multisectoral actions in all public health policy responses, especially ensuring promotion of well-being for all at all ages, and facilitating orderly, safe, and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies, as defined in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
- Ensuring that information and disaggregated data at global, regional and country levels are generated and that adequate, standardized, comparable records on the health of migrants are available to support policy-makers and decision-makers to develop more evidence-based policies, plans and interventions.
- Providing accurate information and dispelling fears and misperceptions among migrant and host populations about the health impacts of migration and displacement on migrant populations and on the health of local communities and health systems.
A copy of this resolution will be transmitted to the AMA for consideration at its House of Delegates. (HOD 2024 – 172)
