ArticleSpecial Issue: Undocumented Immigration: Health ConsiderationsForced migration: Health and human rights issues among refugee populations
Section snippets
Background
The record of human migration began in prehistory and continues uninterrupted today. Politically, socially, economically, and culturally, migration takes place everywhere on earth. Ongoing migratory patterns are broadcast into our living rooms, iPads (Apple, Cupertino, CA), and cell phones through sophisticated and creative communication networks. Migration can be a divisive issue, and we frequently fail to grasp its full effects. In the 1950s and 1960s, the complex process of decolonization,
Refugee Health
The numbers of refugees in Africa alone are staggering; sub-Saharan Africa is now home to more than 26% of the world's refugees. Close to one third of all persons of concern to the UNHCR reside in Africa, consuming 1.89 billion dollars of UNHCR's 2014 budget (UNHCR, 2013b). Civil wars and violent conflict have forced millions from their homes into neighboring countries, often ill prepared to provide protection.
In contrast to most economic migration flow, in which migrants move from lesser to
Historical Overview of International Refugee Policies
In July 1951, the General Assembly of the United Nations met in Geneva to draft and sign the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The impetus for this document was the large number of refugees and displaced persons following the aftermath of World War II (Goodwin-Gill, 2008). The 1951 Convention remains today as the central reference document when examining refugee protection. It defines a refugee as someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of
Impact and Implications of Refugee Movements on Vulnerable Groups
Women and children are especially vulnerable at times of forced migration. Nearly half (46%) of all refugees are under 18 years old; women and girls account for 48% of the refugee population in the world (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2013a, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2013b). This presents unique challenges around the issues of safety and security for displaced populations.
Women and girls often flee their homes unaccompanied and travel under
Research, Practice, and Policy Implications for Nursing
At-risk asylum seekers such as unaccompanied children or victims of torture or sexual violence require special assistance and consideration. If possible, it is recommended that female interviewers and interpreters who are sensitive and trained in issues related to sexual violence be available to help those women seeking refugee status with the registration process and transition into new surroundings. Unaccompanied children must have a guardian appointed to assist and help care for their
Conclusion
Refugees and other persons of concern are becoming a burgeoning force on the African continent and elsewhere. Large populations cross borders and are internally displaced for a variety of reasons including violence, armed conflict, oppression, and natural disasters, often fleeing without any identification. Governments in developing countries shoulder the greatest burden of global migration, stressing the few resources these countries have for their own populations.
Global migration is fast
References (52)
War, gender and culture: Mozambican women refugees
Social Science & Medicine
(2003)Sexual violence
Best Practice & Research Clinic Obstetrics & Gynaecology
(2006)- et al.
High mortality in an internally displaced population in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2005: Results of a rapid assessment under difficult conditions
Global Public Health
(2006) - et al.
Systematic review of prevention and management strategies for the consequences of gender-based violence in refugee settings
International Health
(2013) - et al.
Association of trauma and PTSD symptoms with openness to reconciliation and feelings of revenge among former Ugandan and Congolese child soldiers
Journal of the American Medical Association
(2007) A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier
(2007)- et al.
Child combatants in northern Uganda: Reintegration myths and realities
- et al.
Culture, family and community
- et al.
Trauma- and stressor related disorders in the Tuareg refugees of a camp in Burkina Faso
Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health
(2013) Youngest recruits: Pre-war, war & post war experiences in Western Côte D'Ivoire
(2010)