Description
Introduction:
With more than 80 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, the refugee crisis is fast-pacing in the world with governments paying little attention. Among migrants, refugees often face the worst conditions having to deal with poor housing, and healthcare services. The conditions are particularly dire in Africa with incessant political instability and turmoil. With migration policies often setting the direction for the country’s response, the quality of the national document is quite essential in determining the fate and state of refugees. In this study, we aim to carry out a content and thematic analysis of migration policies for refugee inclusion to determine existent gaps and provide recommendations for future revisions.
Method:
We performed a literature search and review of migration policies of Nigeria and Ghana. Relevant keywords, and content within the official documents were read, reviewed and analyzed for refugee health inclusion.
Results:
The 124-paged Nigerian National Migration Policy, adopted since 2015, contains 71 mentions of ‘refugee’. Among these, it specifically mentions the strategy to provide healthcare for refugees and establishing a unit within the Ministry of health. In the 177-paged National Migration Policy for Ghana adopted since 2016, a total 87 mentions of ‘refugee’ starts with a decision to devise strategies to manage refugees. Both policies highlight programs and committees designed for the welfare of refugees, but require urgent steps in the fulfillment of highlighted Key performance indicators.
Conclusion:
The Migration policies of Nigeria and Ghana provide useful information on specific mention and design of programs for the health and welfare of refugees, but are currently lacking in effective implementation.
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