Source: Sun Yat-sen Center for Migrant Health Policy
Written by: Sun Yat-sen Center for Migrant Health Policy
Edited by: Wang Dongmei
The International Symposium on Migrant Health Policy and Research in China was successfully held in Guangzhou from September 6th to September 8th, 2015. The symposium was organized by Sun Yat-sen University, co-organized by the Sun Yat-sen Center for Migrant Health Policy, the Division of Services and Management of Migrant Population at Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province and the Guangdong Youth Research and Development Center, and funded by the China Medical Board. Under the theme of the symposium: "Health Equity, Social Integration and Health Outcomes", five sessions related to migrant health issues were organized and discussed, which were: Mental Health, Social Integration and Health Development of Migrant Children & Adolescents; Health Behaviors and Health Service Utilization; Health Policy and Health Regulation on Migrant Population; Innovative Research, Methodologies and Health Outcomes; and Health Equity, Multi-Sector Efforts in Health Care Delivery and Health Promotion.

Group photo of participants at the opening ceremony
87 participants of stakeholders from key government sectors (6 in total), domestic and foreign research institutes (26 in total) and international and social organizations (3 in total) attended the symposium, including Dr. Davide Mosca, Director of Migration Health at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland; Professor Yulan Cheng, Deputy Director from the Chinese Center for Health Education; Hongyan Liu, Deputy Director of the China Population and Development Research Center; Dongshu Wu, Deputy Director of the Division of Services and Management of Migrant Population in Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province; Jie Tan, Director of the Guangdong Youth Research and Development Center; Professor Leiyu Shi, Director of the the Johns Hopkins Primary Care Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University, USA; Professor Farid Younos from the California State University East Bay, USA; Dr. Joseph D. Tucker from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; Associate Professor and Physician Kevin Pottie from the University of Ottawa, Canada; Professor Andre Renzaho from the University of Western Sydney, Australia; Associate Professor Ignacio Correa-Velez from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia; Wenli Gu, Deputy Director of Office of International Cooperation & Exchange, Sun Yat-sen University; Professor Yuantao Hao, Dean of the School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University; Ling Han, Secretary of the School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University; Professor Li Ling, Director of the Sun Yat-sen Center for Migrant Health Policy, Sun Yat-sen University; as well as representatives from Seoul National University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Macau, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Fudan University, Shandong University, Sun Yat-sen University, and Xintu Center for Community Health Promotion, Shanghai, China.

Group photo of the staff
A total of 7 keynote addresses and 32 oral presentations were given at the symposium. During the two and a half days, the symposium has summarized current evidence on migrant health policy researches (MHPR) in the context of China and lessons and experience from other countries, and promoted a better understanding of migrant health issues. The symposium has also identified knowledge and context-specific policy gaps and challenges related to migration and health, and explored a research agenda for reducing migration-related inequalities and promoting their social inclusion and well-being. Meanwhile, it has established a platform for ongoing collaboration, and encouraged many young scholars to engage in MHPR.