Migrant Health 1

‘Migration isn’t just for birds’

One of the speakers at the ECTMIH-conference in Verona in 2009, dr. Manuel Corachán introduced his presentation on Travel Medicine and Immigrant Medicine with a remarkable quote.1 In his opinion Travel Medicine and Immigrant Medicine are part of International Health, but unfortunately these fields of medicine seem worlds apart, as we don’t pay equal attention to migrants from, and travellers to low- and middle-income countries. Fortunately health professionals working in migrant health care have accumulated a wealth of expertise from working in LMICs. Many of the so-called ‘tropical doctors’ who are now working in the Dutch health system are able to apply their experiences and knowledge on tropical medicine – but also because of working in a multicultural environment – to the Dutch (‘nontropical’) health care context. Given that the number of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people worldwide exceeds 50 million people (2014)2 it is essential for the health system of the host country to build capacity and gain knowledge on how to adequately respond to all health related problems that may occur among these immigrants. Therefore in this edition of MTb we focus on migrant health in the Netherlands, among other things by looking at the impact of migration on a person’s health and well-being; for some often a life-long felt burden. There is no simple solution for relieving the consequences and pain of traumatic experiences, such as torture or genital mutilation. Access to adequate and (culturally) appropriate prevention, care and treatment is needed to deal with such complex mental and physical traumas. Current tragic scenarios from the Mediterranean Sea underline this need for well-trained professionals and compassion to deal with such conditions. As said, migration isn’t just for birds, and it isn’t likely to stop overnight. HOPEFULLY THIS EDITION OF MTb CHALLENGES THE READER TO BE ALERT AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE SPECIFICS OF MIGRANT HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. IT IS NOT A CHOICE, IT IS AN OBLIGATION.

Hans Wendte