Refugees and Sustainable Health Development in Iran

Abstract

Background: Refugees’ access to quality healthcare services might be compromised, which can in turn hinder universal health coverage (UHC), and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), ultimately. Objective: This article aims to illustrate the status of refugees’ access to healthcare and main initiatives to improve their health status in Iran. Methods: This is a mixed-method study with two consecutive phases: qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative phase, through a review of documents and semi-structured interviews with 40 purposively-selected healthcare providers, the right of refugees to access healthcare services in the Iranian health system was examined. In the quantitative phase, data on refugees’ insurance coverage and their utilization from community-based rehabilitation (CBR) projects were collected and analyzed. Results: There are international and upstream policies, laws and practical projects that support refugees’ health in Iran. Refugees and immigrants have free access to most healthcare services provided in the PHC network in Iran. They can also access curative and rehabilitation services, the costs of which depend on their health insurance status. In 2015, the government allowed the inclusion of all registered refugees in the Universal Public Health Insurance (UPHI) scheme. Moreover, the mean number of disabled refugees using CBR services was 786 (±389.7). The mean number of refugees covered by the UPHI scheme was 112,000 (±30404.9). Conclusion: The United Nations’ SDGs ask to strive for peace and reducing inequity. Along its pathway towards UHC, despite limited resources received from the international society, the government of Iran has taken some fundamental steps to serve refugees similar to citizens of Iran. Although the initiative looks promising, more is still required to bring NGOs on board and fulfill the vision of leaving no one behind.

COVID-19: Marking the Gaps in Migrant and Refugee Health in Some Massive Migration Areas

“…Almost all refugees in Iran live in urban settings alongside the host community, while 4% live in 20 settlements managed by the Ministry of Interior. Iran operates a Universal Public Health Insurance (UPHI) system aiming at universal health coverage (UHC) and since 2015 the government’s inclusive policies provide both refugees and other immigrants with access to health, as well as education and livelihoods opportunities [ 88 ]. However, the compulsory health insurance coverage law remains to be fully implemented, and a substantial gap between private and public medical tariffs leads to high out-of-pocket health expenditure [ 89 ].…”

Migrant Health and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study of Characteristics, Clinical Features, and Health Outcome from Iran

“…Hence, the disparities in the health outcome between immigrant and Iranian patients which were observed in this study, might point to more distant determinants of health which could affect the course of the disease and ultimately influence the outcome of patients infected with COVID-19. Immigrants in Iran could generally be characterized as low-income communities with poor overall health status [ 23 ]. Many send most of their earnings to their home country to support their families, which leaves them unable to afford non-COVID-19 health services, therefore, they often suffer from chronic conditions which are either not diagnosed, or not properly managed.…”

Access, utilization, and barriers to using malaria protection tools in migrants to Iran

“…Iran is one of the countries with the highest number of migrants globally [15]. It has resulted previously; most malaria cases in Iran were attributed to Sistan and Baluchestan Province, mainly along the border with Pakistan.…”