Various scholars from around the
world came together on 27 January 2014 for a web conference focusing on
health consequences of migration. The event, titled
‘The Health Consequences of Migration: Emerging Directions in Scholarship and
Research’, was held at each of the eight Global Centers of the Columbia Global
Center around the globe. Some of the multidisciplinary scholars who graced the occasion
included Jose Moya (Barnard College, USA), Khalid Koyer (Geneva Centre for
Security Policy, Switzerland) and AMADPOC’s
Executive Director Prof. John Oucho (Nairobi, Kenya).
The
webinar, hosted by the Columbia Population Research Center in the School of
Social Work in Amsterdam, delved on the health impacts of migration and sought
to establish a worldwide network of health and migration scholars who can continuously
engage in the conversation for the coming decade. The global debate, featuring
discussions at each of CGC’s centers, further shed light on Surveillance and
Research Challenges as well as the Politics of Migration and Health.
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| AMADPOC Executive Director Prof. John Oucho during Monday's web conference at the Columbia Global Center Africa headquarters in Nairobi (Picture courtesy of www.amadpoc.org). |
At the CGC Africa headquarters in Nairobi,
Prof. Oucho highlighted the health problems that come with rural-urban
migration in the capital cities of three Eastern African countries: Addis Ababa
(Ethiopia), Kampala (Uganda) and Nairobi (Kenya). His presentation titled, ‘Health
Consequences of Migration in Informal Settlements in Informal Settlements in
Eastern Africa,’ revealed that poor urban infrastructure and lack of employment
opportunities had driven urban migrants to informal settlements where they had replicated their rural lifestyles. Prof. Oucho reiterated the need to
understand urban informal settlements in the context of environmental
conditions, health challenges and housing.
The web conference earmarked the need to identify potential
collaborators in migration and health as well as the importance of assisting
students and young scholars in this discipline. The conglomeration of scholars
also agreed on the importance of identifying activities and themes for
networking.
The Columbia Global
Centers Africa began its operations in Kenya in January 2012 after signing a
Host Country Agreement with the Kenyan government. It aims to enable the
highest levels of knowledge and learning for and in the African continent. It also
endeavours to create a hub for global curriculum and scholarly outreach in
Africa. Other CGC Centers are stationed in New York (USA), Rio de Janeiro
(Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Amman (Jordan), Mumbai (India), Istanbul (Turkey)
and Beijing (China).
