Irish response to migration and health informed by WHO report

On 13 May 2019 Limerick University in Ireland hosted a country presentation of the WHO report on the health of refugees and migrants in the WHO European Region.

The strong collaboration between WHO and Limerick University, which recently became an official WHO collaborating centre, allowed for discussion around the content and findings of the report as well as its implementation within an Irish context.

The report was presented by Dr Santino Severoni, Acting Director, Division of Health Systems and Public Health, and Coordinator, Migration and Health Programme, WHO/Europe.

Speakers at the event stressed the importance of cultural awareness and meaningful interpretation of language. They highlighted the need to provide evidence to help dispel myths around migration among the general population.

Health and equity policies and frameworks need to be developed using data and with the support of experts and organizations. This is also true of the Irish context, where better data is needed to capture the health status of migrants in the country.