Women and children already represent the majority of people in forced displacement on a global scale — a humanitarian tragedy that tends to worsen as a result of the intensification of serious conflicts, wars and contemporary crises.
In Brazil, this growing flow brings the challenge and responsibility of welcoming and offering opportunities for autonomy to migrant women who arrive from all continents, often in situations of extreme vulnerability.
To expand information and access for this population to the Unified Health System (SUS), the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Chair at Unicamp — a body linked to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — launched four health booklets for migrant women, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the NGO Panahgah. "This launch reflects a richness of our university: being able to look at a great diversity of issues in the contemporary world", said the rector of Unicamp, Antônio José de Almeida Meirelles, at the booklet launch ceremony, held on Tuesday ( 27) in the University Council Room (Consu).
Meirelles highlighted that Unicamp has a tradition of mobilizing the efforts of the academic community to address concrete needs and injustices in society. "We have the characteristic of combining science, technology and innovation with humanistic objectives. It is an ethical vision of the application of knowledge. It has to do with inclusion, social justice, gender equality, ethnic equality. I would like to congratulate you on this booklet initiative, which is yet another effort by Unicamp in this direction", declared the rector.
The primers, that are available in digital version, are divided in a didactic manner into the themes "General Women's Health", "Reproductive Health", "Obstetric Health" and "Adolescent Women's Health".
The project was coordinated by the president of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Unicamp Chair, Ana Carolina de Moura Delfim Maciel, and by professor Fernanda Surita, coordinator of the Reproductive Health and Healthy Habits Research Group (SARHAS) at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM).
Access to information and decent service
Ana Carolina Maciel explains that the proposal for the booklets came about during a visit to the IOM, in Brasília, carried out by a delegation from the Chair, and was motivated by the difficulties faced by migrant women in accessing information about health care, in addition to the language barrier. "It is difficult to contain the emotion of seeing this booklet ready. It will help decisively in the integration of these women, so that they can receive dignified care. We live in a patriarchal historical process of erasing female protagonism, and this booklet is dedicated to women and children who represent 51% of displaced people in the world", said Maciel.
The booklets are part of the broader scope of the Chair's actions aimed at welcoming and integrating people in forced displacement, which go beyond strictly academic activities. "We have collaborated decisively on several fronts, which includes educational and cultural measures, research and extension projects."
The material is bilingual, in English and Portuguese, and is in the process of being translated into Spanish, French, Farsi, Creole and Arabic, among others. The booklets were developed in accessible language and are being distributed in different regions of Brazil in the printed version, in addition to being widely disseminated in the digital version.
The content, which was produced by students from the Postgraduate Program in Tocogynecology at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Unicamp (FCM), brings an educational and multidisciplinary approach to women's health care and information about the functioning of the SUS.
Professor and doctor Fernanda Surita said that her experience in care contributed in a valuable way to the design of the booklet's approach. She spoke about the importance of disseminating this material not only among migrant women, but also among health professionals. "We serve many women in these conditions, including during prenatal care, and we realized the need to expand access to this information. It is necessary to be very clear to them that everyone has the right to reception and care in the public network", he declared the doctor.
The validation and review of the booklets included the collaboration of refugees and various health professionals, such as nurses and psychologists, who contributed their personal experiences and technical knowledge. "I hope this is the beginning of a great work to expand care for women and do this double hand of guiding those who provide care", said Surita.
The importance of disclosing this information is exemplified by UNHCR's senior protection assistant, William Laureano, who reported having already observed, in reception actions, a great resistance from some women in seeking the SUS — which can be explained by language barriers and cultural factors that make it difficult to understand that the system is universal and free, regardless of the particular documentary and legal situation.
"We did a very intense job of encouraging them to seek out the SUS, but they didn't go, and we didn't really understand why. Until they understood that the service was free", says Laureano. "This project is more than a primer. It has the role of bringing to light a hidden theme, which is very present, but at the same time does not receive the attention it deserves."
"The Unicamp Chair is an example of work and dedication to the cause of refugees, and we see this in each of the people who participate in the body here", declared the UNHCR representative.
The coordinator of the IMO's São Paulo Office, Iurqui Pinheiro, stated that there is no way to think about refuge and migration without informative and affirmative public policies that can safeguard gender equality. "The IOM works together with the international community, with its partners, to provide a more orderly, safe and dignified migration. And these booklets will certainly be a strong instrument in the search for these guarantees, as well as in the dissemination of information for the health of migrant women, refugees and women as a whole", declared Pinheiro.
Access the Migrant Women's Health Booklets here
In line with the defense of a humanistic performance of the university guided by the rector, Ana Carolina Maciel placed the Chair's actions in perspective with the resurgence of global violence in contemporary conflicts, highlighting, in addition to the very serious wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, the crises in countries that have received little attention from public opinion and global geopolitics, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, among others.
"Some of these are completely invisible to public opinion. We insist, we advocate, we vehemently defend, in the university administration and governance structures, for actions and programs that help to resize this reality", defended Maciel.
Wellbeing, Gender Equality and Reducing Inequalities
The Booklets follow the guidelines of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and align with objectives 3, 5 and 10.
SDG3 - Deals with health and well-being. It aims to ensure a healthy life and promote well-being for everyone, at all ages. It consists of nine goals, including reducing maternal mortality, premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promoting mental health and well-being; and ensure universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health services.
SDG5 - Deals with gender equality. It aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. It consists of six goals, including ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls; eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation; eliminate all harmful practices such as early, forced and child marriages; and ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
SDG 10 - Deals with reducing inequalities. It has seven goals, including facilitating the safe, regular and responsible orderly migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
The steering table at the launch ceremony of the Migrant Women's Health Booklets included the rector of Unicamp, Antônio José de Almeida Meirelles, the UNHCR senior protection assistant William Laureano, the deputy chief of staff at Unicamp, Adriana Nunes Ferreira, the president of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello/Acnur/Unicamp Chair and coordinator of the Coordination of Interdisciplinary Research Centers and Nuclei at Unicamp (Cocen), Ana Carolina de Moura Delfim Maciel, the coordinator of the IMO São Paulo Office, Iurqui Pinheiro, the representative of the NGO Panahgah, Sindy Nobre Santiago, the president of the Commission on the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees of the Bar Association São Paulo Section, Carla Hermina Ferreira and the representative of the Community of Refugee Women, Fiton Assi, and Fernada Surita (FCM).
