Migrants need better access to health care in Europe: WHO

Europe must guarantee migrants better access to medical care, the World Health Organisation urged Monday, and highlighted massive disparities in access to health services in different countries. "To improve their (migrants') health, it is important to fill the gap for access to basic care," Santino Severoni, the head of the WHO's Migration and Health Programme, told AFP. In the WHO's Europe region, which covers 53 countries, migrants represent almost 10 per cent of the population, or 90.7 million of 920 million inhabitants. But the proportion varies widely from country to country. Depending on the country and migrants' status, they may enjoy full access to the health care system or none at all. In 15 European countries, including Austria, Turkey, and Britain, asylum seekers have access to the same care as the local population, whereas in Germany and Hungary they are only entitled to emergency care. "People, and some governments, have been reacting emotionally when it comes to newcomers because of the lack of information and data," Severoni said.  Contrary to what some may believe, "there is a very low risk... of transmitting communicable disease from the refugee and migrant...