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Important news from EUAA and the world of COI

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The News section aims to inform users about recent COI publications or upcoming workshops/conferences. EUAA selects information provided in the News section according to its relevance to the COI and asylum fields. EUAA welcomes suggestions to insert a particular news (event, publication).

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10 February 2021

Ukraine: EASO publishes report on national healthcare system as it applies to asylum applicants

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has published a new Medical Country of Origin Information (MedCOI) report on Ukraine. The report, written by EASO, is the result of a Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to Ukraine in early 2020. MedCOI reports help national asylum officials in verifying the healthcare situation in specific countries of origin, in order to aid in the assessment of applications made on medical grounds. 

Different interlocutors were interviewed to get multiple viewpoints on the topics included in the report. These included representatives from governmental ministries, NGOs, public and private healthcare facilities, as well as international organisations.  

The report is divided into five main chapters, covering:  

  • The reform of, and general information on, the healthcare system;  
  • The National Health Insurance Services (NHSU) of Ukraine and health insurance aspects;  
  • Out of pocket payments; 
  • The pharmaceutical sector; and  
  • The accessibility for specific groups, such as discriminated groups; IDPs and the population in the non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine; patients with mental health disorders, patients with HIV/AIDS, patients with Tuberculosis (TB), patients with oncologic diseases, and paediatric patients. 

This report was drafted by EASO and reviewed by experts of the following organisations: Belgian Desk on Accessibility (BDA), Country of Origin Information Division, Office for Foreigners, Poland, and COI Information Desk, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Germany. 
 

The report can be downloaded from the following link.  

 

Background: 
MedCOI was a project initiated to improve access to Medical Country of Origin Information for national migration and asylum authorities in Europe. This ERF/AMIF funded project was run by project teams in the Netherlands and Belgium, and was gradually transferred to EASO between 2017 and 2020. This is the second such MEDCOI report published by EASO, following one on the Democratic Republic of Congo (December 2020). 

 

 

  • Ukraine

10 December 2020

EASO publishes a MedCOI report on the Democratic Republic of Congo

Today, 10 December 2020, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a Medical Country of Origin Information (MedCOI) report on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), December 2020.

MedCOI as a project was initiated to improve access to medical Country of Origin Information for national migration and asylum authorities in Europe. This project was transferred to EASO between 2017 and 2020, to become EASO business as usual as from 2021. While as under the MedCOI project, implemented by The Netherlands and Belgium, the Country of Origin Information reports on the health care situation were not publicly available, EASO intends to publish all MedCOI reports on the EASO COI Portal and website. This is the first such MedCOI report published by EASO.

The report starts with a general introduction to the country and the healthcare system organisation. Separate sections are dedicated to human resources in healthcare, the pharmaceutical sector, blood transfusion policies, patient pathways, insurance aspects and out-of-pocket expenditure. Lastly, separate chapters contain accessibility information on specific disease groups: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, haematology, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, nephrology, neurology, psychiatry, pulmonology, and finally tuberculosis.

This report was drafted by International SOS (Intl.SOS) and reviewed by experts of the following organisations: EASO, MedCOI Sector, Third Country Research Unit, Asylum Knowledge Centre; Belgian Desk on Accessibility (BDA) at the Belgian Immigration Department; Department for Asylum and Migration Policy at the International and European Affairs Unit within the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic; Country of Origin Information (COI) Unit at the Ministry of Immigration and Integration within the Danish Immigration Service; and COI Information Desk / Documentation of COI documents and case law at the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

The report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019). The report is based on carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced.

The report can be downloaded on the following link.

  • Congo

20 November 2020

The Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration publishes a report on the health system in Somalia

​The Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration has published a report on the health system in Somalia. The purpose of the report is to present updated and reliable information on availability and accessibility aspects of medicines and specialised treatment. The report focuses on South Central Somalia which means that information about the health system in Somaliland and Puntland is only included where such information will put the situation in South Central into perspective. The report is based on data collected inside Somalia from selected health facilities, on interviews over Skype or telephone with key health sector actors as well as on written material. The report can be downloaded on this link.

  • Somalia

16 November 2020

CGRS-Cedoca publishes a COI Focus report on Iran and treatment of returnees by national authorities

The Belgian Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) has recently published COI report on ‘treatment of returnees by their national authorities’ in Iran. The report, which concerns the period from 1 November 2018 to 1 March 2020, has been written by the Documentation and Research Department (Cedoca), and was translated by the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre – Landinfo on 30 March 2020. The report can be downloaded on this link

  • Iran

11 November 2020

EASO publishes a COI chronology of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published a chronology of the armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The chronology lists major events between 27 September 2020, when the conflict started, and 10 November 2020, when the cease-fire agreement was announced by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation, and focuses on the impact of the conflict on the civilian population. 

The chronology can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal on the following link.

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan