Health Equity Initiatives’ (HEI) research seeks to demonstrate the links between social marginalization and ill-health.  The research covers various topics regarding refugee and health, especially mental health.

 

 

 

Research-driven advocacy:

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) has initiated a number of research projects to monitor the right to health of the communities the organization works with.

The research also serves to better understand refugees and asylum seekers’ needs and concerns, particularly in the areas of mental health, basic needs, and access to health care services.

To date, HEI has conducted the following research:

  • Survey on access to health care among refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar
  • Needs appraisal of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia
  • Sexual health knowledge needs of adolescent refugees in Malaysia (with the Tulane School  of Public Health)
  • Barriers to adherence for tuberculosis treatment faced by refugees in Malaysia (with the Tulane School of Public Health)
  • Assessment of the psychological situation of Afghan refugee children (with the Tulane School of Public Health)
  • Mental health problems of refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar who have experienced forced labor and human trafficking

These activities are done to ensure that the organization’s advocacy is evidence-based.

Publications:

As an on-going monitoring effort on the reach and relevance of these publications, HEI appreciates it if you can fill in the information on the purpose of downloading the publications.

This report is a study on the sexual education needs of Myanmar children. The study examines the linkages between marginalization and sexual health and education needs.

 

 

 

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This report is a study on the situation of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. Through 73 interviews with Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, data from its case management and mental health services, and interviews with UNHCR and other non-profit organizations, the report highlights the chronic multi-dimensional deprivation experienced by this population. The report also provides insights into the refugees’ dilemmas, especially with regards to the way in which global events and developments related to Afghanistan and Afghan refugees intersect with their daily lives.

Click on the image to download publications.

 

Malaysia is host to one of the largest refugee and asylum seeker populations in Asia. The absence of refugee protection in the national legal system is an overarching structural issue that gives rise to many issues and concerns. Unable to work legally in the country, many refugees and asylum seekers survive on low-paying jobs in the plantation, construction, manufacturing, or service sectors – albeit without legal protection and with increased vulnerability to human trafficking and forced labor. Although Malaysia has ratified 5 out of 8 core ILO conventions, notably the C29 Forced Labor Convention (1930), the rights of non-citizens under these and other domestic laws apply only to those deemed legal. Refugees and asylum seekers are considered “illegal immigrants” under Malaysian law, specifically the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155).

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