Topic of the Month Europe Must Act 2024
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The events of the last few years have meant that health and the threat to health have often been in the spotlight. On an individual level, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns heightened our awareness of our fragility. While, on a more collective level, ageing populations across Europe also stand as a beacon of how far health and medical practices have advanced, with the average life expectancy in the EU standing at 81 years in 2023.
Health is a fundamental human right, yet people on the move often face significant barriers when it comes to accessing healthcare. On top of this, although generally people on the move are likely to be healthy, they can often become at risk of ill physical or mental health while migrating or upon arrival in Europe.
Why?
The WHO provides us with an initial answer:
What’s clear is that a person’s migration status doesn’t intrinsically impact their health. Nonetheless, the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers and the structural inequalities in Europe do mean that many who come under the banner of ‘on the move’ face health consequences.
Throughout this report, we aim to combine policy, reports and academic research to provide a comprehensive yet digestible examination of health and migration. When it comes to the end of the report, we have decided to focus on some of the positive and innovative approaches to health and mental health that we have found. Therefore, ultimately demonstrating that, while health inequalities exist, we can do better.
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