Guidelines have been presented in Rome for running health checks on migrants at the border and in reception facilities in order to standardize procedures and ensure a dignified reception.
The National Institute for Health, Migration, and Poverty (INMP), the Italian higher Institute for Health (ISS) and the Italian Society of Migration Medicine (SIMM) have produced a set of guidelines for standardizing health checks and medical treatment during the various stages of migrant reception in Italy. Called "I controlli alla frontiera, la frontiera dei controlli" (Checks at the border, the frontier of checks), the document contains 50 recommendations aimed at increasing medical protection for migrants and reducing waste. It provides decision-makers and reception center staff with guidance concerning health checks for migrants landing in Italy and during the primary and secondary reception.
Greater protection and less waste
The recommendations promote "clinical and organizational appropriateness" and aim to "avoid waste" caused by useless tests as well as to scale back defensive practices due to unjustified alarmism.The guidelines set out a progressive approach according to the specific stage of reception: initial evaluation on arrival followed by a thorough medical examination in the first reception facility and a full taking charge of the individual and their pathologies at the second reception level.
Recommendations for reception
The guidelines recommend assessing nutritional status and the epidemiological situation in the country of origin and having cultural mediators present during the first general check-up, as well as HIV counseling, syphilis testing and vaccinations for adults and children. They take into consideration the principal infectious diseases (tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis B and C, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases) and certain chronic degenerative diseases (diabetes, anemia, high blood pressure), as well as certain other conditions such as pregnancy that can make a difference to reception procedures.
The guidelines are a "fundamental tool for operators", said SIMM President Maurizio Marceca. They "highlight the need for a dignified reception" and lay the foundations "for directing correct scientific communication". A panel of experts from the INMP, the IOM and UNHCR had been created to draw up 50 evidence-based recommendations that were then put to the public consultation on the internet.