2020•01•31 Kuala Lumpur
A migrant health research dissemination workshop was held on Wednesday, 4 December 2019, and was jointly-organised by the United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), and the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM), Faculty of Medicine (FOM), University of Malaya (UM).
The workshop sought to share findings on the policy gaps in protecting the health of migrant workers in Malaysia. Whilst it engaged with stakeholders to discuss possible solutions for improving healthcare access of migrants, it also stimulated discussions and strengthened evidence approaches within the migrant health space.
The invitation-only event was structured into two halves, with the first half being a knowledge-sharing session. Presenters shared their findings on (1) the appraisal of the quality of research evidence on migrant health, (2) the assessment of the health system cultural competency for migrant service use, and (3) the evaluation of the legal framework and policies related to migrant health.
It was attended by representatives from the medical professions, local and international civil society organisations, UN agencies (IOM & UNHCR), academia, Ministry of Health (Malaysia), and health policy researchers and implementers.
The second half was attended by selected representatives with backgrounds and capabilities to shape migrant health policies. Dialogues and discussions were centred around research impact, as well as recognising the opportunity to strengthen local capacities in identifying leverage points and sustainable solutions for improving migrant health and welfare in Malaysia.
Funded by the China Medical Board Foundation’s Equity Initiative and Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (APO), the research is part of a wider project examining policies protecting the health of migrant workers in Malaysia, China, Thailand, and returnees in Myanmar.
A policy brief series ‘Mekong on the Move’ led by UNU, APO and the IOM, will be launched later this year at Health Systems Global in Dubai. It will examine national policies relating to the health of migrants within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), excluding China.
Migration for Work is a cross-cutting, global phenomenon pertaining to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNU-IIGH is part of the UNU’s Migration Network (a research platform across Institutes of the UNU), that addresses migration through research and education, functioning as a bridge between the international academic community and the United Nations system.