National Policy on Migrant Health Puts Spotlight on Mobile Populations in Cambodia

As part of Cambodia’s efforts to provide comprehensive and equitable health care coverage for its population, the country marked an important milestone in this effort by endorsing a national policy focused on migrants and mobile populations (MMPs) in 2021, helping to address the specific needs MMPs face.

According to the 2021–2022 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey, high morbidity and mortality among migrants, especially in irregular, forced, or exploitative migration situations, is a critical health concern that deserves local and international attention. Among a population of more than 15 million people, over 20 percent are what Cambodia considers mobile populations — which includes international migrants, internal migrants and returnees.[1]

These MMPs, and particularly international migrants, may face obstacles in accessing essential health care services. These obstacles are usually the product of a number of factors, including language barriers, a lack of migrant-inclusive health policies, and in some cases, the regular or irregular migratory status of the individual. These barriers impede substantial progress on the realization of the global health goals toward migration health, and lead to the high rates of morbidity and mortality mentioned above.

Additionally, each population faces a specific set of challenges. One of the primary barriers for many international migrants is a lack of official documentation, which prevents them from accessing social and health protection schemes and other social services both inside and outside of Cambodia. Internal migrants working in informal sectors often face similar issues in accessing free of charge healthcare services given that their employers do not contribute to the National Social Security Funds. Most policies on social security do not cover the informal work sector, where 80–90 per cent of MMPs work. Internal migrants not covered by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) face financial barriers such as having to directly pay for using health care facilities, which can entail significant costs.

As part of a major effort to address these challenges, the Government endorsed a National Policy on Migrant Health in February 2021, which will contribute to improving access to healthcare services for MMPs in Cambodia, particularly women. The policy was developed with support by IOM Cambodia, with funding by the IOM Development Fund, and marks an important milestone towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goal 3 which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

With its specific focus on migrant health, the national policy is a first in Cambodia. The country joins others in the region, such as Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, which have all developed health policies specifically for migrants. It follows a research study, which was carried out to provide concrete recommendations aimed at improving access to healthcare for mobile and migrant populations.

The inclusion of migrant health in the development of national strategies will contribute towards the achievement of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), to which the Royal Government of Cambodia is a champion country from the Asia-Pacific region.

In the final part of the project, IOM Cambodia will assist the local authorities in two areas: first, in developing the capacities of local health workers to control infectious diseases, through a series of training and hands-on workshops, and second, in encouraging MMPs to actively seek healthcare services. To encourage usage of the healthcare services, community-based risk communication campaigns will be conducted in five border provinces with the largest migrant populations: Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, and Steung Treng.

This project is implemented in accordance with the Government’s Rectangular Strategy Phase IV 2018 and United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2019–2023. The project also contributes to the advancement of Sustainable Development Goal Targets 3.3: Communicable Diseases, 5.1: End Discrimination Against Women and Girls, 10.7: Responsible and Well-managed Migration, and 16.2: Protection Children from Abuse, Exploitation, Trafficking and Violence. It is also in line with the Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF) Principles 1: Good migration governance would require adherence to international standards and the fulfilment of migrants’ rights and 2: Migration and related policies are best formulated using evidence and whole of government approaches.
 

[1] The Cambodian census counts individuals who have never resided in a place other than where they were enumerated at the time of the census as MMPs, leading to a much higher percentage than the global average of international migrants (appx. 3%)