Refugees in educational systems: ensuring right to quality (medical) education access

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Laltu Negasa, a dynamic and enthusiastic fifth year medical student at Addis Ababa University, College of Sciences in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a refugee is a person who has fled their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of persecution, conflict, violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and, as a result, is unable or unwilling to return to their country.The youth are among the most vulnerable groups affected by being a refugee. From struggles pertinent to mental health to education access problems and basic human right violations, young people go through a difficult path without any solid support system. Due to the new environment, they might face lack of resources to access education, language barriers and sometimes discrimination. 

Peace and stability are essential for the proper functioning of the healthcare system, including medical schools. A lack of peace and stability can have a negative impact on the delivery of healthcare services and medical education in multiple ways. Disruption of healthcare services in areas of conflict leads to lack of emergency services and shortage of medical supplies. Working in this stressful environment causes burnout and impacts the mental health of health professionals in a negative manner. 

A quality medical education provides students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to diagnose and treat illnesses, prevent disease, and promote health in their communities. Every medical student deserves a quality medical education as quality medical education is related to patient safety, professionalism, compassionate care and competence. 

Ensuring quality medical education for refugees can be a challenging task due to the many barriers they face. Several solutions that can help improve the quality of medical education for refugees include:

1. Increasing access to educational resources and materials and decreasing barriers like payments that are required to access resources
2. Providing language support like translation services and language classes so that refugees can communicate effectively.
3. Giving out financial aids and scholarships to decrease the financial burden they face. 
4. Matching them with mentors and other professionals that can assist them with extra educational support.
5. Preparing social programs to help them mingle with new friends and make them feel welcomed. 

As a youth, we have the greatest impact on ensuring the quality of medical education for refugees. Advocacy is one of the best tools we have at hand to further strengthen the system. Raising awareness, fundraising and volunteering along with partnerships and collaborations can help improve the quality of medical education for refugees and ensure that they have access to the resources they need to succeed.

About the author

Laltu Negasa is a dynamic and enthusiastic fifth year medical student at Addis Ababa University, College of Sciences in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is a Millennium fellowship alumni and is serving as the National officer for the standing committee of human rights and peace in Ethiopian Medical Students Association. She is passionate about reproductive health and rights, gender equality and empowerment of the disabled community. After she completes her studies, she plans to get involved in research and work on impactful programs that will empower women, the disabled community and youths.