Infectious and non-communicable health conditions among newly arrived Eritrean migrants and refugees at arrival and post integration in Switzerland

Author(s) : Afona Chernet

Source : http://edoc.unibas.ch/diss/DissB_12677

Abstract:

“In the recent past years, due to the unprecedented refugee influx worldwide, the awareness of migration has started to get momentum globally. Several key discussion themes had been raised so far by politicians, economists, international organizations, humanitarian activists, public health expertise, as well as researchers. Particularly in the European context, the continuous upsurge of migrants is of great concern.
Majority of immigrants from the south heading towards north are from the sub-Saharan African countries (SSA), where largest portion of them are in the category of low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Hence, migrants and refugees from this region are highly anticipated to have an earlier exposure to the endemic infectious diseases (IDs) before even they kick-off their migration tour. Moreover, due to economical impoverishment, the health system of most LMIC is incapable to provide even basic health care services. Adding to this, the exhausting journey along the Sahara desert and the stressful Mediterranean Sea voyage, expose refugees and migrants to destitute health statues. Even transit countries, being in an unstable condition, are not equipped to support them.
That is why several refugees and migrants arriving in Europe disembark with several infectious diseases (IDs), non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mental health (MH), as well maternal and child health related complications. Several international organizations, such as the WHO European region, international organization of migration (IOM), and European center for disease prevention and control (ECDC), and others non-governmental organization (NGOs) have reported many easily treatable diseases on arrival and post-arrival.
In Switzerland, similar to other countries in Europe, the number of refugees and migrants is on the rise. The reports from the federal office of statistic, federal secretary of migration, and international Red Cross of the country shows majority of the recently arriving refugees from the south are from Eritrea. Currently, migrants and refugees from Eritrea account for more than 32% of the immigrants in the country, making them on top of the table for the last 10 years in a row.
Despite the large number of Eritrean refugees and migrants in the country, to our knowledge, the health condition of this population is not fully documented. Like most SSA, the health condition among the Eritreans is anticipated to be poor on arrival. But, apart from few case reported studies, there is no systematic screening procedure conducted. ”