Telehealth can help provide care to refugees
Remote technology should be used in the Middle East, write Rob Norris, Tamer Qarmout and Lorna Butler.
Canada should be using its expertise in the use of telehealth technologies in remote areas to help ease the suffering of millions of refugees in the troubled Middle East.
Addressing the basic needs of refugees in host countries such as Jordan and Lebanon was among the priorities Prime Minister Justin Trudeau identified as Canada’s response to the continuing crises in Syria and Iraq.
Telehealth technology, which refers to a broader approach of using information and communication technology to deliver health services, expertise and information over distance, can be a big part in meeting the needs of refugees in remote areas.
Canada is a world leader in distributed education for health sciences, using telehealth services to support northern and indigenous communities.
For instance, remote presence technology has allowed the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Nursing to launch a Learn Where You Live nursing education program in northern and rural communities. The U of S College of Medicine provides remote pediatric consultations to rural and northern communities.
By calling on the expertise of such institutions and on international partners, Canada could build local capacities to deliver a range of services that include but are not limited to referrals to provision of health care, sanitation, education and employment.
Attention was drawn this week to the scope of the problem. June 20 was designated by the United Nations as World Refugee Day. Figures from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, show that at least 65.6 million people have been forcibly displaced within their own countries or across borders.
Syria remains the world’s largest source of refugees. Many of those who take refuge in host countries lack adequate access to services including health promotion, clinical care and treatment referrals.
For instance, Amnesty International reported in March 2016 that 58.3 per cent of adult Syrian refugees who suffer chronic conditions are not able to access medications or health services in Jordan. Similarly, in Lebanon, Syrian refugees have limited access to available services as a result of the overstrained health system.
The UNHCR estimates that Iraq has nearly four million internally displaced persons as a result of the continued conflict. The agency says most IDPs live in insecurity and lack adequate access to basic social services, including health.
When we raised the idea of bringing telehealth technology to United Nations humanitarian and relief missions with representatives from a couple of UN agencies and the World Health Organization, a UN agency representative responded:
“I am glad that someone is thinking about bringing innovation to providing essential health care services. The ideas are feasible and could be implemented either inside the camps or outside the camps, where majority of refugees and IDP population live.”
Is Canada ready to reach out to these refugees using telehealth?