Health Policy and Planning
Volume 21, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 53-64

Integrating refugee and host health services in West Nile districts, Uganda (Article) (Open Access)

Orach C.G.* , De Brouwere V.
  • a Makerere University, Institute of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, Makerere University Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda
  • b Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium

Abstract

Refugees are a common feature in Africa and Uganda is no exception. However, Uganda does not have the resources to provide health care to all its own citizens, let alone to refugees. Refugee health services are therefore usually set up and provided separately by international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). However, such services often end up being the only available or reliable services in a particular location for both host and refugee populations. Yet the host populations are often denied access to these services because, in theory, other services are being provided by their government. The case study in the West Nile region of Uganda describes how host and refugee services were integrated in an attempt to address the concerns of inequity of access to care for host populations, when reasonably good health services were available to nearby refugee populations. The paper identifies and discusses the challenges encountered and those remaining.

Author Keywords

host population Integration Uganda Refugees Health service

Index Keywords

health service government reliability United Nations refugee theory Focus Groups Delivery of Health Care, Integrated population research Uganda health care Article citizenship health care utilization health care cost human Humans Refugees

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-29544435124&doi=10.1093%2fheapol%2fczj007&partnerID=40&md5=f909752829fb4d3ec5b7287c49004bc4

DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czj007
ISSN: 02681080
Cited by: 20
Original Language: English