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From UNHCR staff | November 19, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to include refugees and displaced persons in national health plans, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, the United Nations Refugee Agency, said yesterday in an online forum. , urging more support for countries to achieve it.
“We all know the principle of leaving no one behind and it is clear that inclusive national policies and services will help achieve universal health coverage for all,” said Raouf Mazou.
Speaking at a High Commissioner Dialogue session focused on resilience and inclusion in health, Mazou said at least 85% of refugees and displaced people are hosted in developing countries. He noted that this put pressure on health systems even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit this year.
“It’s not just refugees who benefit from it.”
“What we have also heard from many of the government representatives who have joined us today is the willingness of a number of states to better include refugees in national health services,” he said, adding that states need support. to achieve this goal.
“It is not just refugees who benefit from global responses … the host countries themselves can benefit from inclusive approaches,” he said. Host countries can benefit from development funding for both refugees and host countries and from the skills and work refugees can bring to society.
The forum, which brought together experts, academics, government leaders and health professionals, looked at both emergency responses and long-term approaches. Nigel Pearson acted as moderator and the event included contributions from several people directly involved in the implementation of health care plans in individual countries.
Fezzeh Hosseini, 38, is an Afghan doctor and refugee in the Iranian province of Esfahan, who heads a team of doctors and nurses. Since the start of the pandemic, he has worked to ensure that both Iranians and Afghan refugees have information and access to health services.
He said many refugees struggled to find work and therefore often could not afford access to health services.
“The message I am trying to convey is to get a lot of international help to support health services for Iranians and Afghans,” he said.
“Host communities close to refugees have free access.”
Alfred Driwale, Uganda’s Deputy Commissioner for Health Services, said refugees in his country had access to health care and could also work and this has helped everyone in the long run.
“Because of this integration, host communities close to the refugees have free access through third-party partners,” he said.
Akramul Islam, director of the communicable diseases and water, sanitation and sanitation (WASH) program at BRAC, an international development organization in Bangladesh, said his organization has been working with partners including UNHCR in measures to prevent and treat diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.
When the pandemic started, organizations had provided education, training and health care to prevent its spread among Rohingya refugees, he said.
The High Profile Dialogues were established to promote an exchange of views between refugees, governments, civil society, the private sector, academics and international organizations on emerging challenges in humanitarian protection.
This year, the sessions are held for virtually seven weeks, with a focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects displaced persons and stateless persons.
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