Migration, health and human rights: An overview

Migration has become one of the defining issues of the twenty-first century. Migration is not new, but what is new is the scale, the gender mix, the distances traveled; more people are now moving than ever before and they are moving faster and further. This presentation will look at some of the general issues related to migration and health and will give some global estimates of the numbers involved. Migrants will bring with them the health beliefs, traditions and cultural practices of their home country. To understand migration and health requires an understanding of the health determinants of both the countries of origin and the receiving countries. Past approaches based on protection now being replaced by policies of inclusion. The human rights position is clear, in that the right to health applies to all, and not just to nationals of a country. But even in the large number of countries fully signed up to human rights, health inequalities persist.. The best approach must be coordinated action between both the sending and the receiving countries; in developing such an approach, a global public health without rigid borders would be of great value.