1. +
Health Concerns in
Refugee Camps By Katherine MacGregor, Rachel Ding,
Rachel Rodrigo, and Jill Rankin

2. +
Why talk about Health Concerns in
Refugee Camps?
 Disparity in health care needs and
provision
 Many camps around Africa
 Refugees from war, famine etc.
 Population density in camps
 Easily spread illness

3. +
Communicable Diseases in
Refugee Camps of East Africa
By Jill Rankin

4. +
Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI)
 At risk because of overcrowding, suboptimal living
conditions, and malnutrition.
 High infection rate among children under
5
 Viral infections can cause chronic
asthma
 Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and
adenovirus ( Adv)
 Pneumonia
 People in camps more at risk because of the camp
system.

5. +
Malaria
 Caused by infected mosquitos who carry a parasite called
Plasmodium and bite the host.
 Two thirds of world’s refugees are living in malaria endemic
regions
 Women and children most at risk
 Significant cause of mortality and morbidity among refugees
 Solution- prevent infection by use of mosquito nets and
mosquito repellent with deet

6. +
Diarrheal
diseases
 Cholera
 Dysentery
 Result from?
 Accounted for 40% of deaths in acute phase of emergency in
these camps.
 Source of infection: polluted water sources, contamination of
water during transport and storage, scarcity of soap, shared
cooking pots, contaminated foods.
 60% from Cholera and 40% caused by shigella dysentery.

7. +
Measles
 Often endemics occur because of emergencies
 Overcrowding causes fast transmission
 Frequency of severe measles higher in malnourished children
 Blindness occurs because of vitamin A deficiency

8. +
Non-Communicable
Diseases in Refugee Camps
By Rachel Rodrigo

9. +
School of Thought
 Change in Global Understanding
 View and treatment
 Change in Global Health Regulation
 Adjust World Health Organization
 United Nations Policy
 What are the limitations of this policy?
 Why?
 How can they change?

10. +
Chronic Disease
 Lack of knowledge
 Heavy usage of tobacco
 Lack of treatment options
(resources)
 Types
 Asthma
 Hepatitis B
 Heart Disease
 New disease spreading with
‘globalization’ and ‘development’

11. +
Plan of Action
 Education
 For both recipients & doctors
 Severity
 Treatment
 Precautions
 Change in Global View
 Policy Changes
 Health Changes

12. +
Mental Health Concerns
in Refugee Camps By Rachel Ding

13. +
Why Address
Mental Health?
 Geopolitical realities of refugee camps
 War/Torture trauma in post-conflict/conflict settings
 Psychosocial needs
 Basic emotional and relational needs
 Mental health’s relation to physical health
 Psychiatric distress affects physical well-being

14. + Underlying Causes & Effects of
Mental Health Issues
 Causes
 War trauma, Struggle to process memories of war, violence, family
tragedies, etc.
 Psychiatric distress especially among youth
 Effects
 PTSD, Depression, Schizophrenia,
Bipolar disorder, Anxiety
 Vulnerability to Interpersonal conflicts, abuse,
social fragmentation
 Stagnation
 Economic productivity
 Educational activity

15. +
Gaps & Limitations in
Mental Healthcare Delivery
 Scant availability of services
 Scarcity of mental health workers available for aid
 Limited uptake of services
 Due to social stigmas associated with mental illness
 Predetermined coping strategies :
Silence, stoicism, suppression
 Approaches to Solutions/Intervention
 Cross-cultural validity of health care
interventions

16. +
Solutions to
Health Concerns By Katherine MacGregor
in Refugee Camps

17. +
Structural Issues
 Education
 Teaching good habits etc.
 Making people aware of health threats
 Sanitation and hygiene
 Keeping disease from spreading
 Access to clean water
 Malnutrition, malnourishment, dehydration
 Building habitants’ immunity so they can avoid and combat disease

18. +
Immunization
 Proactivity to problems
 Getting people immunized before disease impacts habitants of
camp
 Reactivity to problem
 Immunizations in the face on oncoming epidemic
 Issue: Patient health records
 Tracking who has been immunized and who hasn’t been (and
against what)

19. +
Distribution of
Resources
 Equity issues
 Who should be given health aid?
 Who get immunized?
 How to make sure everyone who needs aid is getting it (i.e.
marginalized groups)
 Logistics
 Difference between emergency situations and long term situations
 How to distribute aid amongst a group of transient people?

20. +
Thank You 