The need to map existing health care services for refugees in Malaysia

Yunus, Raudah Mohd; Azme, Nasibah; Chen, Xin Wee; Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah; Miptah, Hayatul Najaa; Azraai, Awla Mohd

doi:10.7189/jogh.11.03024

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Rohingya refugees are engaged in the agricultural and construction sectors in Malaysia, where there is a higher demand for low-skilled workers. These jobs include extreme manual labor with limited labor rights and with little to no pay, which in turn leads to mental and physical trauma experienced by the refugees [ 28 ]. A Rohingya refugee who lived in Malaysia for 10 years observed,…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The United Nations (UN) Card, Identity, and Negotiations of Health among Rohingya Refugees

Rahman

Dutta

2023

IJERPH

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Being persecuted and expelled from Myanmar, Rohingya refugees are now distributed throughout the world. The Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia has been a preferred destination for Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar’s state-sponsored genocide and more recently in a bid to change their fates from the refugee camps in Bangladesh. Refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups in Malaysia and often face dire circumstances, in which their health and wellbeing are compromised. Amidst a plethora of structural challenges, Rohingya refugees try to claim some of their rights with the aid of the UN card (UNHCR ID cards) in Malaysia. Guided by the culture-centered approach (CCA), this study examined the perspectives and experiences of healthcare among Rohingya refugees while living in Malaysia, now resettled in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The participants’ narratives showed that the UN card not only materialized their refugee status in Malaysia but also offered them a way of living in a world where documents anchor the materiality of health.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The United Nations (UN) Card, Identity, and Negotiations of Health among Rohingya Refugees

Rahman

Dutta

2023

IJERPH

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“…Although private bodies, refugee agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society organizations (CSOs) in Malaysia provide aid in terms of more affordable or free healthcare services, transportation, interpreters to overcome language barriers, and by accepting those without legal identification, there are still areas of need that are yet to be addressed (Yunus et al, 2021). Yunus et al identified a lack in services of promotive and preventive health programs; secondary and tertiary healthcare services; specialized services for mental health, reproductive health, or dental care; as well as inadequate follow-ups and management of chronic diseases due to inconsistent services.…”

Section: Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refugees Life in Malaysia: A Review Paper

Crendy

Luqman

Farah

et al. 2021

MJSSH

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Refugee crisises have affected nearly every nation in the world. The recent influx of refugees into Malaysia is concerning as the government does not legally acknowledge refugees’ legal status. This brings about several questions regarding their survivability in Malaysia, in addition to whether the existing systems and policies are able to accommodate their needs for healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. Although they may have escaped torture and persecution in their own countries, they would still have to face hardships as a refugee in Malaysia. This paper will discuss the life of refugees in Malaysia from the; health, education, economic status, and social life aspects.

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“…Costs of treatment and use of health facilities for nationals and foreigners at a government hospital are given in Table 3 (Hospital Sungai Buloh, 2021) yet despite fee reduction, medical care costs remain high, especially as most refugees are daily waged, workers. The current law which prohibits RAS from formal employment compromises their ability to seek healthcare services (ISCG, 2018;Letchamanan, 2013;Yunus et al, 2021). In 2014, UNHCR launched REMEDI, a health insurance scheme for refugees, in partnership with a private insurance provider to increase access to secondary and tertiary medical services (Hamdan, 2016).…”

Section: Refugees In Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Documentation concerns, fear of imprisonment, language and cultural gaps, inadequate health literacy and other barriers to accessing public health services have all been well-documented (Chuah et al, 2018). Therefore, there is now an urgent need to map Malaysia's current health care services for refugees systematically in order to inform and support future planning and programming by various non-state health authorities (Yunus et al, 2021).…”

Section: Refugees In Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) is a Malaysian-based nonprofit organization, which in collaboration with several partners, provides mental health services, evidence-based advocacy, training and technical support programs, but because of budget constraints, most services are one-off or seasonal. However, many organizations are not well coordinated often resulting in replication of health programs and services (Yunus et al, 2021). Most clinics are located in urban cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang where for example up to 77.1% of RAS are reported to live, whilst access to healthcare services in the other states, particularly outside city centres, is dispersed, often driven by donations and hence unsustainable (The Malaysian Reserve, 2019).…”

Section: Refugees In Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public health status of Myanmar refugees in South East Asia: A Malaysian case study

I.R.¹

2021

Trop Biomed

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports over 80 million people are displaced worldwide with approximately 26.3 million categorized as refugees and over a million residing temporarily in South East Asia. Despite the lack of national legislative framework in place for refugees and asylum seekers (RAS), Malaysia hosts approximately 178,140 as registered with UNHCR and the majority originate from Myanmar. In this review, we examine refugees from South East Asia, particularly from Myanmar that have contributed to the largest influx of refugees to this region with a focus on their health status. The present study traces barriers to the health care of refugees in the country of asylum and also the challenges faced by these communities in accessing health services.

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The need to map existing health care services for refugees in Malaysia

Cited by 4 publications

References 3 publications

The United Nations (UN) Card, Identity, and Negotiations of Health among Rohingya Refugees

The United Nations (UN) Card, Identity, and Negotiations of Health among Rohingya Refugees

Refugees Life in Malaysia: A Review Paper

Public health status of Myanmar refugees in South East Asia: A Malaysian case study

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