Strengthening the Governments’ Capacity in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala to Address the Health of Migrants through a Multi-sector Approach

To date, while each country has made some progress in addressing the health of migrants, many gaps remain, including limited specific information about their health conditions, access to services and difficult working and living conditions that increase migrants’ vulnerabilities to ill-health. There is also very little information about the consequences of migration on the health of families left behind and the health, including psychosocial vulnerabilities, of return migrants.

This project will: (1) conduct an in-depth assessment among the four countries to assess health vulnerabilities of migrants, including irregular migrants and returnees, as well as families fragmented by migration. (2) support the Ministries of Health of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras to develop national strategic action plans to address the health of migrants using a multi-sectoral approach; (3) carry out consultations within the framework of the COMISCA (Central American Ministries of Health Council) and the RESSCARD (Meeting of the Health Sector of Central America and the Dominican Republic) involving the three primary target countries and other countries in the Central American region to discuss and agree how best to develop a migration health agenda at the national level and share good practices and lessons learned from the region; (4) provide evidence-based trainings to health providers on migrant health, to ensure the delivery of migrant friendly health services with attention paid to mental health and psychosocial support, cultural and gender sensitivities.