Addressing immigrants' health: Policy responses in Bulgaria

Addressing Immigrants’ Health: Policy Responses in Bulgaria
A. Kerekovska, I. Mircheva, S. Popova

 Introduction
The global scale of international migration flows has pushed migrants’ health issues high up the policy agendas worldwide. Bulgaria as a new EU member state is increasingly affected by immigration pressure - becoming more attractive as both a transit and a final destination for immigrants. The health of migrants is acknowledged as an issue of major public health importance and a challenge for policy responses.

 Aim
To explore the existence of specific policies developed in response to immigrants’ health and healthcare services in Bulgaria, to identify the main problems and to highlight the public health challenges and future policies perspectives.  

 Methods
Comprehensive review and documentary analysis of international and national migrants’ health literature; Analysis of regulatory norms, specific policies and practices to assess the situation of immigrants’ healthcare legislation and policy responses in the new context of Bulgaria’s EU membership.      

 Results and Discussion
Legislative and multi-sectoral policy initiatives are undertaken in Bulgaria to assure the protection of immigrants’ health, nevertheless, there are problems emerging in practice that require further policy responses. They are related to: deteriorated immigrants’ health status; absence of consistent migration-management policy; lack of systematic reliable data, health information and rigorous research; insufficient interagency and international cooperation; lack of publicity and information about health insurance rights and obligations of immigrants and existing services; insufficient sensitivity and training of health professionals and relevant stakeholders.  

 Conclusion
Promoting migrant-sensitive health policies; sensitizing and training health service providers and relevant policy-makers and stakeholders; encouraging research and information dissemination and health and migration knowledge production; increasing multi-sectoral involvement and expanding bilateral and multilateral international cooperation on migrants’ health are actions of recognized importance to better deal with immigrants’ health problems in Bulgaria.

Key words: immigrants’ health, legislation, policy, Bulgaria.