13.

7 Promoting the health of migrants

Statement:

Honorable Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,

The International Pharmaceutical Students Federation is the leading voice of pharmacy students and
recent graduates in over 81 different countries worldwide.

IPSF emphasizes the significance of medication adherence and its role in migrant healthcare. Poor
adherence to chronic medication therapy places unnecessary burdens on healthcare systems and
economies, including poorer disease state management and increased resource expenditure. A recent
meta-analysis in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology showed that greater adherence to
evidence-based medication regimens for heart disease led to lower risk of heart attack, hospitalization,
and mortality.

Migrants are substantial contributors to societal development in the countries they work and live in, yet
this patient population is often marginalized. In spite of their right to health established by the
International Bill of Human Rights, many face considerable barriers in accessing equitable health care
and social services, compromising their ability to remain healthy and productive. To this effect,
governments and health actors must recognize the need for a concerted, comprehensive and multi-
sector approach to migration and health.

As pharmacy students, we learn to establish and maintain a rapport with our patients to better serve as
an advocate in their chronic disease management. We improve adherence by educating patients and
caregivers on medication administration, possible adverse effects, and realistic treatment outcomes, and
by providing appropriately timed refills. By utilizing pharmacists to increase medication adherence in
migrants, member states can more efficiently distribute resources and decrease costs in their own health
systems and thus provide higher quality healthcare.

IPSF strongly encourages member states to work together to create a process to ensure continuation of
medications for migrants. We urge member states to increase promotion of migrants health and thereby
make certain that "no one is left behind" - the main principal of the 2030 sustainable development
agenda.

References:
1. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2047487317695628?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid
%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&
2. HEALTH OF MIGRANTS: THE WAY FORWARD - Report of a global consultation Madrid, Spain, 35 March 2010 :
file:///C:/Users/ASUS/Downloads/Health-of-Migrants%20(3).pdf
3. International Migration, Health and Human Rights : file:///C:/Users/ASUS/Downloads/WHO_IOM_UNOHCHR-Publication%20(1).pdf