The four speakers engaged in a discussion involving important issues concerning migrants and the Swiss healthcare system, proposing several improvements. Topics included the migrant health strategy, the Swiss healthcare systems, migrant resources and transcultural competence.

With an increasing number of humanitarian crises involving Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) or refugees in non-camp settings, aid needs to be increased and expanded into host communities where they settle, mostly in urban areas. This session will present the tremendous challenges that refugees, IDPs and migrants encounter in host communities, particularly in urban settings, and will propose strategies to address their health needs.

Following a presentation on diaspora health professionals by Anna Basten of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), representatives from various organizations including the IOM engaged in a lively discussion, led by Alexandre Bischoff, PhD, on the problems and possible solutions concerning the migration of health workers between health systems.

Despite ashes of the erupting Icelandic volcano, the Geneva Health Forum has decided to maintain its activities and to run the 3rd edition of the conference, starting Monday 19 April 2010, as originally planned.