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Free medical care for migrants in new IOM Ethiopia partnership

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Free medical care for migrants in new IOM Ethiopia partnership

10 June 2020
By: 
Handover of consumable medical equipment to St. Paul's Hospital
IOM
Handover of consumable medical equipment to St. Paul's Hospital

Mohammed Adem suffered kidney failure while working as an irregular migrant in Sanaa, Yemen in 2018, forcing him to returntoEthiopia. He was supported by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa, which also organized his medical treatment as part of his reintegrationprocess.

Mohammed now needs regular dialysis to stay alive.And,thanks to a new partnership between the EU-IOM Joint Initiative and St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical Collage, henowcan access life-saving treatment. The partnershipallowsmigrant returnees with medicalto receivetreatment at St. Paul’sat no cost. Before,IOM referred returnees to various private hospitals.

“I had to spendclose to $3,500,all the money I earned from working at a vegetable farm,to get treatment in Yemen.I was left with nothing,” Mohammed explained. “Myfriends told me about IOM and the support Icould get.”

To access dialysis treatment Mohammed has hadtostay at IOM’s Transit Centre in Addis Ababa, where he has been for over a year. Co-funded by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative, the centre provides temporary accommodation, meals, counselling, and assists returneesgoingback to their communities of origin.

Such support is crucial for Mohammed and others like him. He comes from a community over 150km from Addis Ababa where there no dialysis treatmentis available. Where dialysis is available, the treatment is unaffordable for most Ethiopians in similar situations, costing over USD1,200 per month.

Which means migrant returnees with access to free medical treatment from St. Paul’s Hospital is a boon. Since March 2017, the EU-IOM Joint Initiative has provided basic medical assistance to some 1,500 returnees at the Addis Ababa transit centre. More than 260 returnees with severe medical conditions were referred to specialised hospitals.

The hospital has faced shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Our stock was very limited, lasting for only two weeks. St. Paul’s Hospital was established to serve the underserved community and this partnership is a perfect fit to respond to migrant returnees with medical needs,” said the hospital’sdirector,DrWondimagegnGezahegn.

A donationmade to St. Pauls Hospitalof medical consumables worth overUSD21,000has strengthened the institution at a time when it suffersfrom supply chain disruptionsdueto the COVID-19 epidemic.

Mohammed and others like him feel fortunate to be getting care. But more resources are requiredto meet the medical needs of returning migrants, particularly in the face of COVID-19.IOM in the region is appealing for USD71.6 million to meet the needs of migrants affected by COVID-19, including health requirements.

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