On this LAB, students learned about the public health challenges faced by refugees and health professionals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Malaysia is a transitional country for refugees, with a total of 163,860 refugees registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as of December 2018 [Figures at a Glance, UNHCR Malaysia]. Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its Protocol and does not have an organised asylum system regulating the status and rights of refugees. This absence of a legal framework is a source of great unpredictability in the lives of refugees in the country, including restricting their access to health services. This poses complex public health challenges that range from communicable diseases to child health.
This LAB examined these challenges from the health professionals’ perspective, as well as from the perspective of the refugee community. Students visited UNHCR, refugee health clinics and refugee community-based organisations where they had the opportunity to engage with key stakeholders involved in the issues. The LAB used a combination of structured, site- or community-based and group learning. Students learned to apply information gained during the programme to projects targeted towards solutions and public health advocacy. In addition, students learned the ethics framework for humanitarian research.
