Caribbean states agree to implement framework on migrant health, rights

Participants of the Regional meeting to provide guidance on the implementation of the Regional Framework on Migrant Health and Rights (PANCAP photo)
Participants of the Regional meeting to provide guidance on the implementation of the Regional Framework on Migrant Health and Rights (PANCAP photo)

Regional stakeholders have agreed to the implementation of a Framework on Migrant Health and Rights at the country level, and to the pursuit of a holistic approach to providing services to migrants.

This was reported by the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) in a release on Thursday, when it concluded a regional meeting to provide guidance on the implementation of the Regional Framework on Migrant Health and Rights.

The meeting was held in Port-of-Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago.

PANCAP will follow up with countries on the implementation of the Migrant Framework through its Justice for All Programme and the PANCAP Policy and Strategy Working Group on Stigma and Discrimination, said Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP. Springer also committed to PANCAP “continuing high-level engagements with policymakers, including Ministers of Health and Finance and the CARICOM Secre-tariat to advocate for access to health by migrants as a public health priority.”  

“The PANCAP Director concluded the meeting with a challenge for participants to advocate at the country-level for an intersectoral holistic approach to providing services for migrants which would incorporate their social and psychological needs.  He noted that the draft guidance on the implementation of the framework proposed by participants is not prescriptive and can be adapted based on the requirements of each territory,” the stated. 

PANCAP said attendees agreed that a holistic approach to providing migrant services should be taken and that the framework should be adopted from a human rights perspective.

In relation to health services, it was noted that the framework is necessary for protecting and safeguarding public health throughout the region, and participants decided that the health priorities of the individual territories should guide the framework’s implementation.

“Participants were exposed to country presentations from Guyana and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which provided details of the situation and response to Venezuelan migrants, as well as experiences from Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, The Bahamas and the Organisation of Eastern Carib-bean States (OECS).  These experiences illustrated the need for the implementation of the Framework to ensure consistent access to health by migrants,” PANCAP reported.

Participants also called for research to determine the financial and human resource capacity needed to provide holistic health services to migrants; the requirements for a minimum package of services for migrants; what is needed to guide decision making on the types of services necessary for migrants; and the process for sourcing a financial mechanism to mobilise funding for access to all healthcare by migrants.

Participants at Thurs-day’s meeting included Port Health Medical Officers, representatives of Ministries of National Security and Border Affairs, Legal officers and Protection Officers, Inter-national Development partners, Permanent Secretaries, Ministries of Health, Chief Medical Officers, National AIDS Programme Managers, Immigration Officers, Civil society partners that work with key populations, Youth Leaders, Private Sector, Academia, and the International Organisation for Migration.