title: Access to healthcare for the most vulnerable migrants: a humanitarian crisis.
abstract: A series of Médecins Sans Frontières projects for irregular migrants over the past decade have consistently documented high rates of 14 physical and sexual trauma, extortion and mental illness amidst severe healthcare, food, and housing limitations. Complex interventions were needed to begin to address illness and barriers to healthcare and to help restore dignity to the most vulnerable women, children and men. Promising interventions included mobile clinics, use of cultural mediators, coordination with migrant-friendly entities and NGOs and integrating advocacy programs and mental health care with medical services. Ongoing interventions, research and coordination are needed to address this neglected humanitarian crisis.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Family Medicine and Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Scientist, Ottawa Primary Care Research Group, Bruyere Research Institute, University of Ottawa, 75 Bruyere St, K1S 0P6 Ottawa, ON Canada.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pottie
authors.affiliation: Medecins Sans Frontieres, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Jorge Pedro
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: MSF Canada, 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 402, M5S 2 T9 Toronto, Ontario Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cornish
authors.affiliation: Humanitarian Affairs, MSF OCA, Postbus 10014, 1001 EA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Linn Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Biorklund
authors.affiliation: MSF United Kingdom, 67-74 Saffron Hill, EC1N 8Q London, UK.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gayton
authors.affiliation: MSF Germany Bank für Sozialwirtschaft Konto: 97 0 97, Poland, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Doerner
authors.affiliation: MSF Canada, 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 402, M5S 2 T9 Toronto, Ontario Canada.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schneider
keywords: Access to care; Asylum seekers; Humanitarian crises; Refugees; Undocumented migrants