The Sri Lankan government will present the findings of a national
research study on the health and social status of migrants and
mobile populations at a high level symposium in Colombo on
Thursday, October 13th.

The report, commissioned by the Inter-Ministerial Task Force on
Migration Health, with technical and financial support from IOM,
examines the health and social status of internal, out-bound and
in-bound migrants, and the impact of migration on the families that
they leave behind.

High-level government officials, policy makers, representatives
of the UN, NGOs and academics, are expected to attend the
symposium, which will discuss the key findings of the study and
formulate recommendations for national planning and policy
action.

The project was directed by an inter-ministerial steering
committee, chaired by the Secretary of Health, with participation
from the Ministries of Health, Defence, Immigration, Labour, Social
Services, National Planning, Foreign Employment, the Board of
Investment, Finance, Economic Affairs and State Insurance.

IOM provided funding for through its 1035 Facility and
formulated the research agenda, based on desk reviews and five
commissioned research projects.

Closer cooperation between government departments to cope with
health and social issues relating to migrants has already led to
some improvements in border health management and better health
service support for migrants, notably refugees returning to Sri
Lanka from India.

Nearly 5,900 registered refugees have returned to Sri Lanka's
Northern Province from camps in Tamil Nadu since the end of the
conflict in 2009, but an estimated 73,210 remain.

"It is very important to register all the returning refugees and
integrate them with the local health system to screen and to ensure
continuity of healthcare for them," says Dr. P. G. Mahipala,
Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Health.

IOM has developed a booklet for returnees with the Ministry of
Health that includes essential information on health and the health
system. It covers topics ranging from the risks associated with
landmines, emergency management of burns, and how to cope with
blast injuries and snakebites, through mother and child health and
breastfeeding.

The booklets have been distributed to returning refugees through
local authorities in Northern districts and via the UN Refugee
Agency (UNHCR).

For more information please contact:

Kolitha Wickramage

IOM Colombo

Tel: +94.772518740

E-mail: "mailto:kwickramage@iom.int">kwickramage@iom.int