New EU-funded research into health of north African migrants
A new EU-funded study into the health of north African migrants is about to get underway. The study will be carried out by 6 universities across Europe and North Africa and has received EU funding to the tune of EUR 2 million. The research is being supported by the EUNAM ('EU and North African Migrants: Health and Health Systems') project, which is funded under the 'Health' Thematic area of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Mapping human health is a complex task even within a single non-fluid population, but it becomes even more complicated within a transient population that is constantly influenced by changing factors. The health of migrants is always influenced by their host country as well as their country of origin. For the EUNAM project, which will last four years, a team of experts from Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and Tunisia will conduct research into the health aspects of the full cycle of migration, viewing the health situation in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia as representatives of the Mediterranean and North African partner countries, which are the origins of vast numbers of immigrants in the EU. As many migrants spend long periods of time in several different host countries and some eventually return to their country of origin, it is important to survey their well being, health status, disease panorama and use of health services compared to the native population. Such analyses would be incomplete without casting a view on the same indicators and parameters in the country of origin. The study also hopes to shed some light on the differences among the health issues of different migrant groups. As France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Sweden all receive large numbers of migrants from other regions too, these comparisons can be made. 'Collectively, the group of experts has a lot of experience of disease prevention work and has access to material and registers containing information on population health and disease patterns and the effects these have on the health care system,' commented Jan Sundquist from Lunds Universitet, Sweden. The institutions involved are the Ain Shams University ASU Faculty of Medicine, Egypt, the Institut National de Santé Publique, Algeria, the Universita Degli Studi Di Ferrara, Italy, the Centre d'Etudes et Recherches Prospectives, Tunisia, the Lunds Universitet, Sweden, the Institut de Recherche et Documentation en Economie de la Santé, France, and the Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Morocco. In light of the recent political upheaval, protests and revolutions across north Africa and the knock-on effect these have had on the numbers of migrants arriving in the EU from the region, the project is particularly timely. The beginning of the study also comes as the Commission announced assistance to Italy in light of the exceptional levels of migrants fleeing the instability of the region. On 20 March, Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström confirmed the deployment of a Frontex (the EU's border management agency) mission titled 'Hermes' to assist Italian authorities in managing the inflow of migrants from north Africa, in particular arrivals from Tunisia to the island of Lampedusa, just 113 km off the Tunisian coast. 'As part of the Hermes mission, experts from participating Member States will be deployed along with aerial and naval support to assist the Italian authorities. Human and technical resources could be increased according to future needs,' said Home Affairs Commissioner Malmström. She also added: 'The Tunisian people are demanding democracy as well as economic and social development. Tackling these issues would decrease irregular immigration.' The mission is part of a broader framework of measures by the Commission to manage these exceptional migratory flows. Other actions include cooperation with Tunisian authorities, identification of financial emergency envelopes and assistance by the European Police Office (Europol). Frontex experts will assist in debriefing and interviewing migrants. Special attention will be given to identifying those who may be in need of international protection.For more information, please visit: Lunds Universitet, Sweden: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/(opens in new window)
Countries
Germany, Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Sweden, Slovenia, Tunisia