WUNRN
IOM - International Organization for
Migration
VULNERABILITIES OF MIGRANT WOMEN EXACERBATED BY INACCESSIBILITY TO MATERNAL
AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES
International Women's Day 2009
GENEVA - March 8, 2009 - Migrant-hosting communities the world over need
to provide accessible, acceptable and affordable maternal and child health
services for all migrants, irrespective of their legal status, in order to
lessen the vulnerability of women to migration, says the International
Organization for Migration (IOM).
"Women and girls, especially when forced to migrate or when in an
irregular situation, are disproportionately affected by the risks of migration
because of their vulnerability to exploitation and violence," says IOM
Deputy Director General Ndioro Ndiaye to mark International Women's Day.
"This vulnerability is being exacerbated to unacceptable levels by the
lack of access to appropriate maternal and child health services in particular,
which can have a long-term public and social cost."
Maternal and child health, often thought of as preventative care, can and does
lead to life-threatening situations with tragic results because problems have
not been spotted in good time or because the right skills and treatment are
unavailable. Babies and children of women who have not had ante-natal care can
be more susceptible to problems such pre-mature births and growth and
development issues.
A lack of access to maternal and child health services can also perpetuate poor
health among migrant communities which in the long term puts a greater strain
on health systems in host societies. Not following an immunization programme
can not only impact on outbreaks of communicable diseases, but can also affect
a child's access to school.
Those at most risk across the globe are irregular migrant women and those
forced to migrate, such as internally displaced or asylum-seekers.
Recent studies in some European countries have shown that a lack of legal status,
while increasing irregular migrant women's risk to violence and sexual assault,
also reduces their access to pre-natal care. This is particularly worrying
given that irregular migrant women are more likely to experience unwanted
pregnancies than other women due to a lack of access to family planning
services and education as well as the result of sexual violence.
"The fear of deportation is a major barrier for many irregular migrants
seeking care as the priority is to stay hidden in society. The best they can
hope for in destination countries is emergency care, and maternal and child
health doesn't fall into this bracket until it is too late," Ndiaye adds.
Even when in principle migrant women living and working legally in another
country have access to health care, it is not always "migrant
friendly". Cultural differences, language barriers and xenophobic
attitudes can and do impact on a migrant's ability to get the necessary care
she needs.
In East Africa, for example, IOM health staff on the ground cite the lack of
such migrant-friendly services promoting reproductive and maternal and child
health, including pre and post-natal care, assisted delivery and child survival
programmes, as the most pressing issue facing migrant women. Such problems are
evident in destination regions such as Europe too.
For displaced women, distances to health facilities are the main stumbling
block to reproductive and maternal health services, especially in rural areas.
In places like the Mekong Delta, Zimbabwe, as well as in Iraq with its 2.8
million internally displaced people, the long distances to the nearest health
facility deny many women pre and post-natal help at a time when they are at
their most vulnerable due to the lack of adequate shelter, food and sanitation,
resulting in preventable maternal and infant mortality and miscarriages.
In some cases, like Colombia, a lack of information among both displaced people
unaware of their right to access health services, and health personnel unaware
of their obligation to provide these services, can stop displaced women getting
the help they need.
Among the solutions is establishing and developing existing midwifery and
community health skills among migrant communities. This would help to spot
problems and potential problems in advance and build knowledge on when a
patient needs to be referred.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, some of IOM's responses have included the
training of displaced women as traditional birth attendants to provide these
vital midwifery skills.
These kinds of programmes can also be taken into migrant communities in
destination countries. A major advantage of doing so would be that these
migrant community health workers would understand the social and cultural
factors that hinder accessibility to and acceptability of existing health
services.
"What will make the greatest difference ultimately is for authorities to
provide maternal and child health services, a cornerstone of primary health
care, to all migrants. Addressing this need is not just a public health and
human rights issue but is also for the common good," Ndiaye concludes.
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