IOM YEMEN: CLOSING THE HEALTH GAP

Throughout her five-year role as a Migration Health Physician at IOM’s Migrant Response Point (MRP) in Aden, Deena has borne witness to countless experiences that will undoubtedly linger in her memory for years.

“I vividly recall an incident where a migrant arrived in a deep state of confusion and we initially suspected he had a brain injury, but it later emerged that he was dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse,” Deena recounts.

To assist healthcare providers in delivering appropriate and effective care to migrants in conflict and crises situations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recently introduced an innovative digital tool known as the electronic Personal Health Record (e-PHR) in hospitals providing healthcare to migrants in Ma’rib and Aden.

The tool plays a crucial role in addressing gaps in healthcare information for migrants transiting the country, reducing language barriers and facilitating a better understanding of migrants’ healthcare needs.

“Knowing his medical history would have made our response smoother and the entire process more efficient.”

THE LONG JOURNEY TO HEALTHCARE

Given the challenging journey that migrants coming from the Horn of Africa must endure, crossing the desert and navigating the sea for days, the majority of those transiting through Yemen often arrive grappling with health issues and exhaustion. IOM estimates that over 200,000 migrants urgently require humanitarian assistance in Yemen, yet many have no access to health support.

Yemen’s health system has slowly crumbled during the now ten years of conflict, falling short of meeting the demand for healthcare. This situation has exacerbated the level of vulnerability of local communities, including migrants, who now only have access to few fully functioning health facilities.

In response, IOM plays a critical role in delivering life-saving health services to internally displaced people, migrants, and host communities, integrating disease outbreak response into its health programme. A key component focuses on strengthening Yemen’s health system by rehabilitating facilities impacted by conflict, providing medicine, medical equipment, and supporting medical staff with incentive payments.

This approach ensures an adaptive, needs-based response, backed by thorough assessments and monitoring. Regular field presence, health assessments, and community feedback mechanisms enable IOM to effectively adapt to evolving contextual needs.

EMPOWERING HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

In 2023, IOM provided vital support to nearly 76,000 migrants through medical consultations across Yemen. A comprehensive overview of migrants’ health histories can significantly help healthcare providers in delivering appropriate and effective care, particularly for migrants who seek care from various healthcare providers in different locations.

Dr. Abdulrahman Jassar works as an Internal Medicine Resident Physician at Al Husoon Hospital in Ma’rib, a vital healthcare facility supported by IOM. The hospital is dedicated to delivering critical healthcare services to stranded migrants, addressing the unique challenges posed by their circumstances.

“Access to a migrant’s medical history is crucial for understanding their health condition and medical predispositions,” emphasizes Dr. Abdulrahman Jassar. “This, in turn, can help us narrow the scope of diagnoses and tests needed to evaluate a patient’s case.”

According to Dr. Jassar, migrants face a myriad of challenges in accessing healthcare. Between language barriers, a lack of personal documents and insufficient funds to afford private healthcare, migrants are often left with no choice but to turn to public healthcare facilities, which are often overcrowded.

“The information that a patient can give a doctor is extremely important,” the doctor explains. “With over 300 potential tests, without any initial information, providing an accurate diagnosis can be very difficult.”

The e-PHR enables the recording and access of comprehensive medical information, encompassing diagnoses, medications, allergies, immunizations, lab results, and previous treatments for migrants receiving healthcare in IOM-supported hospitals.

THE PROCESS

“When a migrant arrives at the health facility, a healthcare provider welcomes them and explains the functionality of the e-PHR tool,” explains Dr. Murad Aidraos, IOM Migration Health Officer in Aden. “If the migrant consents to use the tool, the health staff will then secure the migrant’s consent, fill in their information and health history, and input them into the system.”

Given that migrants are among the most vulnerable communities in Yemen, safeguarding their privacy and ensuring their security is of utmost importance. The e-PHR tool incorporates robust measures to protect the confidentiality of migrants’ personal health information.

After entering the data, the migrant receives a card containing the QR code of their medical history, which they can securely keep. This card includes the migrant’s initial information, while the QR code holds their complete medical history, which they can use when visiting another health facility with the same system.

Since this represents the first implementation of the e-PHR tool in Yemen, IOM conducted several training sessions on the proper use of the tool for medical staff in Ma’rib and Aden.

“We have trained 50 health care providers from the Government Health Office, the District Health Office, and hospitals administrations, as well as medical staff from Al Husoon Hospital,” says Hani Shaif, IOM Medical Assistant in Ma’rib.

The three-day training covered various topics related to migrants, including the challenges they face in accessing healthcare, mental health care for migrants, cultural considerations, and the definition and use of the e-PHR tool. Trainees will undergo further on-the-job training at Al Husoon Hospital once the hospital receives the necessary IT assets for the e-PHR tool.

Having already undergone training, Deena has been using it at the MRP in Aden since last December, already recording data for more than 500 patients.

“This tool is amazing; it makes our work easier and our diagnoses more accurate,” says Deena.