SIXTH INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE

WORKSHOP 1: Is Your City Making Migrants Healthy or Sick?

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

14:00 - 17:30

ORGANIZERS

Ms. Wendy Kwong
Toronto Public Health
Planning and Policy Section
277 Victoria Street, 6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5B 1W2
Phone: (416) 392-7451
Fax: (416) 392-1483
E-mail: wkwong@city.toronto.ca

Mr. Trong Nguyen
Senior Policy Analyst, Strategic Policy and Planning Division
Strategic Policy Directorate
Population and Public Health Branch, Health Canada
17th Floor, Jeanne Mance Building, Room C1756
Postal Locator 1917B1, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
Phone: (613) 946-6562
Fax: (613) 946-2062
E-mail: Trong_Nguyen@hc-sc.gc.ca

Marc Bruijnzeels, PhD
Assistant Professor Patterson Erasmus University
Dept of Health Policy & Management
P.O. Box 1738
Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands
Phone: 31 (10) 408 1865
Fax: 31 (10) 408 9092
E-mail:m.bruijnzeels@bmg.eur.nl

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

The rapid mobility of people around the world has precipitated a debate on the health implications of migration and cities as migrants appear more likely to settle in metropolitan areas than rural communities. There are two dimensions - two sides of the same coin - which require thought: what has the health status of a migrating population done to the health status profile where they settle and what impacts do communicable disease control efforts have on the migrants' health? Issues of utilization, equity and access are integral to answering these questions and to identifying systematic barriers that may exist to maintaining flexible and effective communicable disease control infrastructures. Achieving these goals require effective disease surveillance and early detection, the capacity to investigate unusual illness events, well-informed and vigilant primary care and health institutions, and excellent communication systems. Solutions must transcend traditional approaches of exclusion and containment of communicable disease to encompass new paradigms in health promotion and disease prevention.

This workshop's focus on migrant health will motivate ongoing policy research into ongoing and future efforts with respect to communicable disease control. Participants will be drawn from policymakers in North America, and Europe as well as from researchers and NGOs involved in the settlement and health care of migrants. Based on their diverse experiences and research findings, we will examine the challenges and benefits of collaboration in planning policies and developing service delivery models, and learn valuable and exportable lessons for health promotion and population health.

DURATION

The format of the workshop will be presentations of 25 minutes each to draw in the participants' perspectives, plus a short break, and then questions-and-answers by the audience and panel members (30-45 minutes). In order to accommodate 4-5 speakers and have sufficient time to discuss the issues that are raised, this workshop will last 3 hours (or two standard one-and-a-half hour sessions). A summary paper will be prepared and submitted to the Metropolis Conference organizers.

STRUCTURE
1. Introduction and Welcome

2. Presentation:

K.A. Adamse-Pipim, NGO, The Netherlands -
NGO's experience on planning and developing programs/services for African people regarding AIDS/HIV and other STDs

Dr. Doug MacPherson, Scientist/Policy-maker, Canada -
Senior policymaker's overview on global movement of people, brief Canadian demographic and migration health paradigm

Dr. Aldo Morrone, Practitioner, Rome, Italy -
Practitioner's view on issues related to communicable diseases, also what do they encounter in daily practice and what kind of recommendations can they offer

Professor Tom Sculpen, Scientist/Advisor to the Minister, The Netherlands -
Member of the State Commission on Hepatitis B and Advisor to the Minister's perspective on the decision to vaccinate only people at high risk instead of a population approach in many countries that require to vaccinate the whole population

3. Questions and Answers Period

4. Closure

PARTICIPANTS

Researchers: Europe

Luigi Toma
Resp.del Servizio di Medicina Preventiva delle Migrazioni,
del Turismo e di Dermatologia Tropicale
Istituto San Gallicano - IRCCS, Roma
Via di San Gallicano 25/a
00153 Roma, Italy
Phone: 39-06-58543739/3780
Fax: 39-06-58543782
e-mail: morrone@ifo.it

Professor Tom Schulpen/Advisor to the Minister
Centre for Migration and Child Health
Wilhelmina Children's Hospital/Academic Hospital Utrecht
Huispost KE 04-153.0
P.O. Box 85090
3508 AB Utrecht
Phone: 030-2504932
Fax: 030-2505373
e-mail: cmch@worldonline.nl

Policy-makers: Canada

Dr. Doug.W. MacPherson
Director, Quarantine, Travel and Migration Health
Health Canada
Brooke Claxton Building, Postal Locator 0900B, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 0L2
Phone: (613) 954-3236
Fax: (613) 952-8286
E-mail: Doug_MacPherson@hc-sc.gc.ca

NGOs: The Netherlands

K.A. Adanse-Pipim
Project Leader
Afapac Foundation
Daalwijk 29
Postbus 12389
1100 AJ Amsterdam
Phone: 31 (20) 600 3454
Web Site: www.afapac.cjb.net