Ecuador 2019

Thailand has championed migrants’ health protection for years by offering a prepaid, premium-based health insurance scheme. Undocumented migrants can buy the insurance under the condition of registering with the government.

Thailand achieved universal health coverage, through three main insurance schemes: 1) the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for ordinary Thai nationals, 2) the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS) for Thai civil servants, and 3) the Social Security Scheme (SSS) for workers in the formal private sector.

Numerous public services have adjusted to provide universal access or extend social protection coverage to an increasingly diverse population through bilateral and multilateral social security agreements or unilateral measures.

One mechanism for extending social protection and paving the way for universal coverage is the establishment of social protection floors – nationally defined sets of basic social security guarantees that ensure at a minimum, that over a lifetime, all those in need have access to essential health care and to basic income security.

Social innovation initiatives have been launched in many countries to find solutions to local challenges involving migrants, refugees and host communities in social entrepreneurship ventures.

Numerous programs empower young people to identify challenges in their communities and to create entrepreneurial solutions to address these barriers. Through a combination of training, mentorship and in some cases seed funding, youth learn transferable skills to become social innovators and entrepreneurs.

Some examples of these programs (see links below) are:

The Migrant and Refugee Orientation Centre is a place both to meet and to receive support, aimed at all groups and communities that make up the multicultural society of the City of Buenos Aires. It seeks to centralize activities of State bodies and civil organizations and promote initiatives, meeting the needs and demands of migrants and refugees. Its activities are divided into 3 main areas: 1) Guidance and support; 2) Job training; and 3) Sport and recreation.

Uruguay has introduced specific measures to minimize administrative irregularity linked with international human mobility and is pursuing legal framework revisions to promote migrants’ rights, bilateral and multilateral social security agreements, visa waiver agreements, and various measures in line with civil society recommendations.

The most significant examples of regularization and access to residence and identity documents are the following:

GIZ supports the National Programme for Sustainable small-scale Irrigation in Mali through job creation in two value chains with high employment potential, fishery and horticulture, in the region of Kayes, particularly affected by emigration. 

The Bella Milano initiative in the city of Milan, Italy, has supported migrant volunteers to clean the city and give back to the community, helping to establish a positive rapport in their neighbourhoods. Milan has also organized the ‘Milano Mondo’ media campaign including annual neighborhood festivals.

The city of Atlanta in the USA has undertaken to provide free transportation to refugees for their legal and medical appointments.

In Atlanta, as well as some other cities in the USA, private company Lyft has also offered transportation grants to a number of immigrant and refugee organisations as part of its Lyft Relief Rides Program. 

Several civil society organisations in Atlanta also provide similar services to certain immigrants (e.g. refugee children). 

In order to absorb sudden influxes of refugees arriving to Lebanon, the city of Brital developed coordination mechanisms with both local and international partners to establish reception and ongoing support services.

Despite the absence of a public government policy to regulate how Syrian refugees are dealt with, the Lebanese municipal law gives municipalities the right to address all local / community related issues, as deemed appropriate and within available means.

The city of Montreal in Canada has a pro-active strategy to make the most of diversity through the appointment of diversity managers who support initiatives to increase diversity in public services notably in the police forces and municipal boards.