Building bridges to address migrant health challenges in the Middle East and North Africa

Our research aims to design and effectively implement the MENA Health Country Profile (MHCP-t) tool, which will provide access to an unprecedented database as well as analysis tools on migrant health in the Middle East and North Africa. 

Led by experts in the fields of migrant and global health as well as health system strengthening and digitalization, and also supported by early and mid-career researchers, our team works closely with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that MHCP-t reflects the health needs and contextual realities of migrants.

The research roadmap

Step 1 - Understanding the current status of migrant health:

We will gather and analyse data on migration demographics, as well as migrant access to health and vaccination services and related policies for major diseases and in each country: Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan.

Download review

Step 2 - Identification of migrant needs and views on the current health system:

We will interview civil society organisations and migrant communities to develop a tool tailored to identify their needs in relation to health provision, and barriers to health care.

Guides on migrant views about health

Step 3 - Selection of indicators that will guide better migrant health and polices:

We will discuss with key stakeholders which indicators can help them improve health care practices and policies. These will include individual and disease centred indicators, indicators related to health policies as well as some reflecting the local legal framework on health coverage. 

Indicators set

Step 4 - National coordination mechanism to ensure the effective use of MHCP-t:

The Migrant Health Secretariat, an executive body that will be created in each country, coordinated by the Ministry of Health in each country, will designate the team of enumerators to feed MHCP-t, and later supervise its implementation. This will initially be done in Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan, and later rolled out to Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. 

Step 5 - New policies and practices for migrant health in the MENA region:

We will establish a dialogue with stakeholders, both at the Ministry of Health and regional levels, to explore mechanisms for cross-country engagement, data sharing and policy development. This will ensure a feasible and pragmatic application of the tool's results.

Step 6 - Global roll-out:

We will explore the implementation of MHCP-t in other countries in the MENA region as well as in other global migrant hotspots through meetings and interviews with local stakeholders to assess the barriers and facilitators for MHCP-t implementation.

Download the tool

Principal documents and papers

research-ico01
Vaccination of migrants in the North African region: a comparative policy analysis across North African countries and Yemen
Read the protocol here
research-ico02
Migrants in the Middle East and North Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic
Read the paper here
research-ico02
Understanding health inequities among transiting migrants within the Middle East and North African (MENA) region through strengthening data systems
Read the paper here
research-ico03
New Project Will Study How to Improve Health of Migrant Populations in North Africa and Middle East Through Data Collection and Better Access to Health Services
Read the article here