PH Champions Mainstreaming of Health in Migration Governance 

MARRAKECH 21 December 2018 – Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola, head of the Philippine delegation, led the call to consider health in migration governance at the side event entitled “Mainstreaming Health of Migrants in the Implementation and Review of the GCM: Towards International Cooperation for a Shared Vision” at the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Marrakech, Morocco on 08 December 2018.

On the high level panel with the Undersecretary were IOM Migrant Health Director Jacqueline Weekers, ILO Deputy Director General Moussa Oumarou, Ambassador of Portugal to Morocco, and officials from the Ministry of Health, Morocco.

In her statement, Undersecretary Arriola noted that consistent with the whole of government approach on migration and in keeping with centerpiece agenda of “Universal Health Care,” that seeks to ensure equitable access to quality health care by all Filipinos, whether in-country or abroad, the Department of Health (DOH) led the establishment of the Philippine Migrant Health Network.

All government agencies, performing health-related functions including the Migrants Workers’ Affairs Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs, are part of this network that meets regularly to coordinate efforts, to monitor emerging migrant health concerns, and to fill the gaps of our information system on return migration. A Joint Memorandum Circular on Medical Repatriation to streamline and facilitate the seamless intake of repatriated migrant patients, including his/her transfer to a hospital in the Philippines adopted the Philippine government agencies engaged in migration.

Dr. Joel Buenaventura of the Philippine DOH presented specific programs implemented by the DOH, and other programs in the pipeline, given the new focus given to migrants as a public health concern.

The Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, in consultation with the DOH, will continue to pursue the nexus of Health and Migration at the Geneva-based international organizations, specifically the IOM, ILO, UNHCR and the WHO. END

For more information, visit www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGenevaUN/.