Mind the Gap Conference
It was a real pleasure and honour to be invited as Human Rights Special Rapporteur by Denis Onyango of Africa Advocacy Foundation to the #mindthegap conference in Brussels with the theme of Migrant Access to Health focussing on HIV.
The reality of denial or restriction to healthcare access is heartbreaking but to be in a room full of changemakers from grassroots community organisations, WHO, UNAIDS etc was a heartwarming privilege. I was inspired by many including Susan Cole FRSA Harvey Kennedy-Pitt, MPH, PGCE, FRSPH Angelina Namiba Chamut Abebe Kifetew Immy Kolstee Ben Collins Anna Birnkammer Teymur Noori
Congratulations to the organisers for convening a truly diverse and inclusive forum that represented academics, community leaders, volunteers, health and social care professionals, those living with HIV, sex workers, campaigners etc The only group missing from the discourse were policy makers, government who were invited but did not attend for questionable reasons in my mind.
The prevailing anti immigrant hostile environment in Europe is the key to denial and restriction of universal access to healthcare. Immigration has been weaponised against immigrants from the global south. Undocumented migrants are in the most precarious situation especially those living with HIV, their situation compounded by poverty, trauma, stigma, lack of transportation, inability to safely store medication, hunger, homelessness, poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of a physical address, lack social integration, isolation, loneliness etc
The above are merely symptoms, the core issue is:
Lack of immigration status as a result of discrimination fuelled by a hostile immigration climate.
We are focussed on the symptoms of the above inequity but until we successfully challenge the root cause, the status quo will prevail.
We must change the narrative about immigrants, they are not a problem but a solution to our acute labour shortages. Nothing will change as long as we offer a room in our homes to Ukrainian refugees and demonise other migrants fleeing conflict, human rights violations, death and the effects of environment disasters caused by global warming fuelled by our consumption. For them removal to Rwanda. All migrants are entitled to international protection and basic human rights including healthcare whether they are South American, African, Asian, European etc
People are the problem, we are also the solution.
We can end AIDS by ensuring unfettered access to health care. We must Mind The Gap:
The Prevention GAP.
The Testing GAP.
The Treatment GAP.
The Stigma GAP.
To achieve the above we must guarantee immigrants universal access to healthcare that is unified across Europe which can only be achieved by political will, therefore the prevailing hostile immigration climate must come to an end. All immigrants matter, there are no good and bad immigrants, simply migrants entitled to basic human rights including healthcare regardless of their background.
