Migration, Migrants, and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deisy Ventura ◽  
Jameson Martins da Silva ◽  
Leticia Calderón ◽  
Itzel Eguiluz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization has recognized health as a right of migrants and refugees, who are entitled to responsive healthcare policies, due to their particular social determinants of health. Migrants’ and refugees’ health is not only related to transmissible diseases but also to mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes. Historically, however, migration has been linked to the spread of diseases and has often artificially served as a scapegoat to local shortcomings, feeding on the xenophobic rhetoric of extremist groups and political leaders. This approach fosters the criminalization of migrants, which has led to unacceptable violations of human rights, as demonstrated by the massive incarceration and deportation policies in developed countries, for example, the United States under the Trump administration. In Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular, there have been legal developments, such as pioneering national legislation in Argentina in 2004 and Brazil in 2017, which suggest some progress in the direction of human rights, although in practice drawbacks abound in the form of countless barriers for migrants to access and benefit from healthcare services in the context of political turmoil and severe socioeconomic inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and enhanced the effects of such inequality in the already frail health conditions of the most disenfranchised, including low-income migrants and refugees; it has both caused governments in Latin America to handle the crisis in a fragmented and unilateral fashion, ignoring opportunities to cooperate and shield the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, and served as a pretext to sharpen the restrictions to cross-border movement and, ultimately, undermine the obligation to protect the dignity of migrants, as the cases of Venezuela and the U.S.-Mexico border illustrate. Still, it could represent an opportunity to integrate the health of migrants to the public health agenda as well as restore cooperation mechanisms building on previous experiences and the existing framework of human rights organizations.

Health Education in the Border Corridor

1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-29
Author(s):  
Hope Isaacs
Keyword(s):  
Infant Feeding ◽  
Breast Feeding ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Infant Health ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
United States Mexico

Despite closely maintained familial connections and cultural traditions, the Hispanic population spanning the United States-Mexico border has diverged sharply from its traditional infant feeding practices. Successive reports document a trend away from the long-established cultural pattern of breast-feeding among Hispanic mothers. At the same time, World Health Organization reports have stimulated greater awareness among health care professionals of the positive impact of breast-feeding on infant health rates in Third World countries. This paper describes a multistage project undertaken by a binational team of nursing professionals and an anthropologist. Project goals were to research, design, and implement a mode of intervention which would encourage better management of infant feeding and which could be clinically applied on both the Mexican and U.S. sides of the international border.

scholarly journals Water and Sanitation in Urban America, 2017–2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (10) ◽  
pp. 1567-1572
Author(s):  
Drew Capone ◽  
Oliver Cumming ◽  
Dennis Nichols ◽  
Joe Brown
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Urban America ◽  
Joint Monitoring ◽  
Health Organization

Objectives. To estimate the population lacking at least basic water and sanitation access in the urban United States. Methods. We compared national estimates of water and sanitation access from the World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Program with estimates from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development on homelessness and the American Community Survey on household water and sanitation facilities. Results. We estimated that at least 930 000 persons in US cities lacked sustained access to at least basic sanitation and 610 000 to at least basic water access, as defined by the United Nations. Conclusions. After accounting for those experiencing homelessness and substandard housing, our estimate of people lacking at least basic water equaled current estimates (n = 610 000)—without considering water quality—and greatly exceeded estimates of sanitation access (n = 28 000). Public Health Implications. Methods to estimate water and sanitation access in the United States should include people experiencing homelessness and other low-income groups, and specific policies are needed to reduce disparities in urban sanitation. We recommend similar estimation efforts for other high-income countries currently reported as having near universal sanitation access.

US election could affect remittances to Latin America

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Low Income Families

Subject Growing remittances to Latin America. Significance Family remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have been growing strongly in a year when immigration has become a central and controversial election issue in the United States. Impacts Strong remittance growth will have a positive impact on millions of low-income families in the region. A Trump presidency could lead to reduced LAC-US migration and a tax on remittances, probably slowing growth in 2017-18. LAC migrants and their families are set to benefit further from an expected continuing fall in sending costs.

scholarly journals Use of Simple Mobile Technology to Create an Electronic Vaccination Registry in Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 130-143
Author(s):  
Samuel Juma
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Health ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Short Message ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Low Coverage

Vaccination is one of the high-impact public health interventions against the spread of disease. Over time, developed countries have been able to reduce the burden of disease through improving access to vaccination and achieving high vaccine coverage. In low-income countries, the situation is different as most countries still report low coverages of less than 90%, which is the global target recommended by the World Health Organization. The main reasons for this low coverage include poor access to vaccination, stock-outs, and poor documentation and targeting for vaccination services. To address these problems, we developed an electronic vaccine registry using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology that registered births, vaccines administered and sent short message reminders to mothers about their clinic dates. The study was conducted in Nyandarua County, Kenya, between June 2018 to March 2019. To participate in the study, mothers had to reside within the jurisdiction of the study site. Mothers who moved into the study site also had their children registered and previous vaccines updated. A total of 4,823 births and 20,515 vaccines administered were captured into the system. The system sent 12,554 short message reminders to mothers; 3 days before the due day and on the due day. Additionally, it generated a birth register, vaccination register, defaulter list, dropout rate report, vaccine coverage, and timeliness reports. The intervention improved vaccination coverage and timeliness of vaccination by up to 8.7%.

scholarly journals Mental health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
Jorge J. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Mental Health Reform ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Made In

Mental illnesses are a growing health problem and reducing the treatment gap in Latin America and the Caribbean is a great challenge. Evaluations conducted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that the responsiveness of health services is still limited. Nonetheless, from an evaluation of how mental health reform has progressed in the region following the historical benchmark of the Caracas Declaration (1990), it is clear that – despite the limitations, shortcomings and challenges – significant progress has been made in most countries. This paper briefly reviews this progress.

scholarly journals Assessing electronic immunization registries: the Pan American Health Organization experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carolina Danovaro-Holliday ◽  
Marcela P. Contreras ◽  
Dalys Pinto ◽  
Ida Berenice Molina-Aguilera ◽  
Diana Miranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

Objective.To develop a methodology to assess electronic immunization registries (EIRs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Latin America and the Caribbean.Methods.A team from the Immunization Unit at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reviewed existing methodologies to evaluate health information systems, particularly the Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) framework and methodologies used to assess information systems. In 2014, the PAHO team convened a small working group to develop an evaluation approach to be added to the existing World Health Organization immunization data quality self-assessment (DQS) tool. The resulting DQS with an added EIR component was named “DQS Plus.” The DQS Plus methodology was used in Panama in May 2014 and in Honduras in November 2015.Results.The DQS Plus tool proved feasible and easy to implement in Panama and Honduras, including by not adding much time or resources to those needed for a usual DQS. The information obtained from the DQS Plus assessment was practical and helped provide health authorities with recommendations to update and improve their EIR, strengthen the use of the registry, and enhance the data the assessment produced, at all levels of the health system. These recommendations are currently being implemented in the two countries.Conclusions.The DQS Plus proved to be a practical and useful approach for assessing an EIR in an LMIC and generating actionable recommendations. Further work on defining operational and related EIR functional standards in LMICs will help develop an improved EIR assessment tool for Latin America and the Caribbean, and potentially elsewhere.

scholarly journals SOME MODERN PROBLEMS OF COUNTERACTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

2021 ◽  
pp. 122-135
Author(s):  
S. О. Bukhonskyi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Law Enforcement Officials ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Human Rights Standards

Counteracting domestic violence is today one of the most important areas of social development. It is seen not only as a social problem, but primarily as a problem of protecting human rights and, above all, the rights of women, requires the development of appropriate legal means of solving it. When violence is committed in the family, the rights and freedoms of a particular person are violated, and through the capabilities of the aggressor and the victim, the latter’s self-defense is complicated, which requires intervention from the state and society. According to the data provided by the World Health Organization, one in six women has experienced domestic violence. According to the same data, this problem is more acute for economically underdeveloped countries, while women in these countries are more likely to recognize such violence against themselves as justified. Thus, the percentage of women who reported that they had been subjected to violence by their family members at least once in their life varies from 15% in Japan to 71% in Ethiopia. According to other sources, the level of domestic violence against women is about 23% in Sweden, 4% in Japan and Serbia, 30–54% in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru and Tanzania. In the United States, a woman suffers from physical violence every 18 minutes. According to statistics, 62% of the murders of women were committed by their husbands. In Peru, 70% of all reported crimes are domestic violence. Sexual violence is widespread – in Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, every sixth woman has been raped. The adoption of special legislation and its introduction into the practice of the activities of authorized state bodies makes it possible to gradually eradicate these negative social traditions. International information exchange between scientists, law enforcement officials, social workers contributes to the spread of international experience in the Ukrainian legal system. In addition, Ukraine, in the course of the formation of national legislation, studies and adapts the provisions of international human rights standards, including on combating domestic violence.

scholarly journals Progress in trial registration in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2007–2013

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Rodríguez-Feria ◽  
Luis Gabriel Cuervo
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Trial Registration ◽  
World Health ◽  
Clinical Trial Registry ◽  
Clinical Trial Registration ◽  
Publication Rates ◽  
Clinical Trial Registries ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

This descriptive study identifies trends in clinical trial registration in the World Health Organization International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), from 2007–2013, and provides adjusted estimates for registration rates by population and publications (2007–2011). Trends and data are presented by subregion and language in interactive graphs, including annual registration rates by population (2007–2011) and publications (LILACS and MEDLINE) listed in SCIENTI Network (Science and Technology Indicators). Of the 11 945 clinical trials involving LAC countries, 8 282 were in South America, with Brazil leading at 4 070 (49%); 2 421 in North and Central America, with Mexico leading at 1 886 (78%); and 1 242 in the Caribbean, with Puerto Rico leading at 857 (69%). After adjusting by population and publication rates Chile, Panama, Argentina, and Peru led registration rates per 1 million inhabitants. Variations in the number of trials per year are quite substantial. Clinical trial registration increased in a steady yet inconsistent way. The implementation of the Policy on Research for Health has been followed by an increase in countries that require registration and have established clinical trial registries. However, there is room for improvement in adherence throughout LAC. Trial registration is offered gratis by Brazilian, Cuban, Peruvian, and United States registries, among others.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document