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Migration Health
As witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the link between human mobility and public health is increasingly dynamic and complex. The health of migrants is not only affected by the circumstances of their migration process along the mobility continuum – at origin, transit, destination and return locations – but their movements also impact public health as people on the move and the communities hosting them interact within and across borders.
Developing response mechanisms that support the management of health concerns along the mobility continuum is key to ensuring that people on the move are healthy and able to achieve their migration aspirations and fully realize their potential.
IOM Ghana supports government actions to respond to global public health emergencies and the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005). Furthermore, in line with the Universal Health Coverage, IOM works with and assists national counterparts in establishing policies and programming that addresses migration health concerns and mainstreams migration health.
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Key actions as outlined in IOM Ghana’s Country Strategy
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- Strengthen capacity amongst national stakeholders to implement a holistic approach towards reintegration, including with regards to community-based reintegration and reintegration case management.
- Strengthen coordination with relevant national, international and institutional stakeholders to establish a Directly Observed Therapy centre for tuberculosis treatment and enhance laboratory services to support vaccinations.
- Enhance public health response consistent with IHRs in the areas where migrants are exposed to risks such as: Points of Entry (PoEs); cross-border communities; and along transport corridors and urban settlements. Programming includes the construction of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities; capacity building on infection prevention and control (IPC); risk communication and community engagement; disease surveillance; clinical case management; and the continuation of health services at PoEs.
- Increase coordination and advocacy with relevant stakeholders to ensure that, regardless of their status and location, migrants receive at least basic health care as well as mental health and psychosocial support.
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Migration Health Assessment Centre (MHAC) Ghana
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Our mission is to deliver and promote comprehensive, preventive, and curative health programmes which are beneficial, accessible, and equitable for migrants and mobile populations, and to ensure migrants are fit to travel in a safe and dignified manner.
The Migration Health Assessments Centre (MHAC) became operational in Ghana in 2007 and currently has one main operational centre in Accra. The MHAC in Ghana has more than 30 skilled staff and experienced professionals in different fields (Medical, ICT, Administration, Logistics and Finance).
Since its establishment in Ghana, the Migration Health Division (MHD) Ghana has been able to set up a modern MHAC with an in-house radiology and vaccination unit, laboratory, and the other components of the migration health process.
MHAC Ghana’s partners
In Ghana, MHAC has establish relationships and partnerships with the following organizations and agencies:
- Ghana Health Services (GHS) through the National TB Control Program
- United Nations (UN) Agencies
- Governments of the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, among others
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“Healthy migrants live in healthy communities.”
Migration health initiatives at MHAC in Ghana aim to ensure that migrants, refugees and mobile populations have access to universal health care.
MHD works to ensure that the migration process does not endanger the health of the migrant or the host community.
Migration health assessments are among the most well-established migration management services offered by IOM. Health assessments provide the opportunity to promote the health of migrants through the initiation of preventative and curative interventions for conditions that, if left untreated, could have a negative impact on the migrant's health and/or on the public health of the host communities.
Travel health assistance is a health assessment-related service offered to address individual health and safety, and to manage conditions of public health concerns as individuals move across geographical, epidemiological and health system boundaries. Within Health Assessment Programmes, pre-embarkation checks and pre-departure medical screenings are performed in order to assess a migrant's fitness to travel and/or to provide medical clearance. These measures also ensure that migrants are linked to and given appropriate referrals to medical services once they arrive in their destination countries.
MHAC carries out health assessments for various categories of migrants, including resettling refugees, labour migrants and displaced persons, either before preparation for departure or upon embarkation.
MHAC offers pre-departure services, including treatment for endemic conditions such as malaria and diagnostic treatment for tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections. MHAC also immunizes migrants and refugees against vaccine-preventable diseases and offers an array of specialized counselling.
In the context of resettlement, IOM conducts health assessments of refugees accepted for resettlement prior to their travel, including complete medical assessment (physical examination, chest x-ray, phlebotomy, etc.) and pre-departure/embarkation check-ups, and ensures fitness to travel.
IOM operates its own laboratories in Ghana where specimen are examined to detect various infectious diseases. IOM also has an in-house radiology unit for tuberculosis (TB) screening. To ensure migrants and refugees travel safely and do not pose a public health risk to other travellers or receiving communities, IOM provides them with immunization and presumptive treatment. Support services, including TB detection and counselling, are also provided for both refugees and migrants.
At the request of the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, the USA and others, IOM Ghana conducts health assessments for migrants, refugees and students following their respective national health guidelines.
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MHAC Ghana: professionalism, accountability, inclusivity
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The purpose of health assessments is to identify and address conditions of public health and public safety concern, and conditions impacting health and social services. Our goal is to inform migrants of their health conditions and needs, and to facilitate their integration into host communities.
- Expert Physicians: MHAC Ghana employs licensed and skilled national and international physicians who are trained by IOM and partner government authorities to administer comprehensive migration health assessment services, in accordance with the technical instructions (TI) of destination countries.
- Public Health Approach: MHAC conducts mandatory health education sessions and professional pre/post-HIV counselling and testing, including the dissemination of culturally appropriate health information materials. MHAC treats endemic conditions, such as malaria, typhoid and others, and provides treatment for tuberculosis, STIs and AIDS. MHAC provides immunizations for vaccine-preventable diseases, such as yellow fever, measles, polio, hepatitis A and B, meningitis, varicella and others.
- Dignity: MHAC’s pre-departure medical procedures always ensure migrants are fit to travel in a safe and dignified manner. This guarantees the health and wellbeing of the migrant, fellow travellers and receiving communities.
- Accountability: At MHAC, the health assessment of migrants is tailored to satisfy the existing TIs of the destination countries. Quality control, assurance and anti-fraud measures are implemented at all stages, and regularly updated.
- Inclusivity: At MHAC, we promote a work environment that makes every applicant (refugee or migrant) and employee feel valued while also acknowledging their differences and how these differences contribute to the organization's culture and business outcomes.
Schedule migration health assessment online
Locate your IOM Ghana’s Migration Health Assessment Centre, view destination country-specific migration health assessment requirements and procedures, and schedule your migration health assessment online: