GCRF Andean Network for Venezuelan Migrants

Lead Research Organisation: Cayetano Heredia University
Department Name: School of Public Health and Admin

Abstract

Between January 2017 and December 2018, 3.2 million Venezuelans migrated from their country as a result of acute domestic political and economic crisis. The largest inflow was to the Andean countries of Latin America: Colombia (1.3 million), Ecuador (220,000), Peru (635,000) and Chile (100,000). The ongoing political and constitutional conflict in Venezuela (Jan 2019-) elevated the risk of this outflow being sustained, a mega-migration process driven by factors of expulsion rather than attraction (Michael Piore 1979).

This migratory process is unprecedented for Latin American countries, which have not developed adequate regional co-ordination mechanisms for addressing large scale hemispheric displacement. This capacity weakness is further reflected in the migrant flows from Central America to Mexico and the US, but with the Venezuela / Latin American migratory dynamic being significant due to the speed of the exodus. The 'tide of migrants' has put enormous pressures on receiving countries and revealed major weaknesses in technical and humanitarian responses that this project seeks to address.

All migration has a chain of processes for the migrant: the decision, the journey, the crossing of borders, the first contacts, the resettlement, the search for work and resocialization. This chain is difficult, but it is even more so when the migration is disruptive, as in this case, wherein the migrant risks loss of fundamental rights and protections, separation from family and other 'resilience' networks, and suffers new labour, income, gender and cultural inequalities. The tensions between Venezuela and neighbouring countries, and between Venezuelans and host communities further complicates the situation of migrants and exacerbates their vulnerabilities.

The speed, scale and context of migrant outflows has meant Venezuelans lack appropriate documentation, they do not have access to health, housing, education or social services and there has been elevated dependence on employment in poorly remunerated, informal and also criminal sectors (INEI, 2018, Baltica, Tunstall, Pickett and Gideon, 2013, Fundaredes 2018). There was consequently a mismatch in the social protection and health systems of receiving countries, which were not prepared to meet the urgent needs of this migrant population. While the Andean states have sought to address the new humanitarian and health challenge, and developed Initiatives to address this gap, a number of problems have arisen: provision has fueled resentment among populations in receiving countries; addressing migrant needs has highlighted existing deficiencies in technical and human capacity, and responses have been short term and emergency based. This has precluded co-operation and the sharing of best practice and lessons learned across Andean countries. .

The aim of the Andean network project / proposal is to strengthen the responses of countries to this new problem of mass migration, through cooperative learning. This network fits with the need to strengthen capacities and promote disciplinary and inter-disciplinary exchange, to respond to emergencies in an agile manner and from an evidence base. The project is informed by the sustainability approach of the SDGs, promoting sustainable health and well-being and sensitive to differentiated gender and generational needs.

The Andean network plans two international seminars (Lima and Bogotá) for the exchange of experiences (hemispheric and international? Ie how did Germany cope with 1.3 million migrants / refugees, Canada also etc); four national workshops, one per country; visits to Venezuelan communities to see their situation live and collect their opinions; and communication, dissemination and sensitization activities, with a webpage, newsletters, bulletins and reports.

Planned Impact

The Network will have an impact on the problem of Venezuelan migrants by socialising solutions that have been or are being implemented by the other countries of the Andean region. But on the other hand it will have a general impact on Latin American societies because it will lower the social tensions generated by this massive influx of immigrants. It is not normal for one country to receive one million or half a million people. There is a sense of solidarity, but also the perception of possible competitors.

The expected impacts on Venezuelan migrants are summarised in the improvement of their quality of life in their countries of destination and in the greatest facilities for their transit and social and labour integration. The ways are diverse:
a) Some countries have more agile mechanisms for registering and providing identity documents to migrants, from which the others will learn.
b) Other countries have already identified the epidemiological profile of migrants and have adapted their offer to these pathologies (for example for diseases such as TB or HIV / AIDS). This will serve as a line of reference and example for countries that do not yet have detailed knowledge of the health needs of migrants.
c) There are countries with social services that support vulnerable and poor people, which have been readjusted to provide social assistance to migrants. They are public systems of coordination with all the ministries, whose agility would prevent people from having a transition full of precariousness.
d) There are popular housing programs and popular housing associations in some countries, whose knowledge could serve the rest of the countries.
e) There are experiences of labour insertion with decent work, which must be analysed, since part of the migrant population is over-exploited in terms of wages and extension of their working hours.

It is important to note that Venezuelan migrants are a recent and massive foreign population, so they could suffer cultural discrimination, or greater gender inequalities, or practice with them a phenomenon similar to South African apartheid, so the impact sought should emphasise the full guarantee of their citizen rights.

Five aspects are proposed in the management of the project, aimed at optimising the possibility of greater impacts:
a) Multiple composition of the National Networks: the impact depends to a large extent on whether the Network is not external to the stakeholders but with them, in particular to work with the presence of the Ministries of Health, associated with the academics and cooperators, in addition of leaders of migrants.
b) Targeting in a few Key Results Areas, to follow them up: in principle one should go from less to more. It is proposed to start with 1 health topic and 2 social issues. We cannot specify now the program of the meetings, but the list of needs reveals some urgent issues (health, social support, decent work, housing).
c) Productive meetings: the seminars and workshops will be well prepared, with a view to specific agreements. We will agree 1 or 2 outcomes for each annual seminar and workshops. International seminars will be held at the end of the first semester of year 1 to review the initial progress and reinforce the project, and at the end of the first semester of the second year to review the activities and identify the final results.
d) Presentations to the institutions involved: The Network will make presentations of its progress in the entities. This will be a way to reinforce their involvement.
e) Incubators of innovations: the Network will encourage the formulation of projects to develop ideas arising from the exchange, thus constituting an ecosystem of innovations, in the search for alliances with other networks and support of international networks. The impact sought will always be double: academic and social.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description The research has revealed the wide access gap of the Venezuelan migrant population to health services in the different countries of the study. In general, access to health services in the various Latin American countries has been partial. In the case of Peru and Colombia, there is a lack of knowledge of the migrant population about the offer and available services, so they do not know how to use them. The residence permits of the different countries have focused more on legal protection than social and health issues. In the case of Ecuador, the policies adopted by the government have been limiting migratory flows; on the other hand, Chile, has gradually implemented health policies that include the migrant population, expanding their rights. Also, the research has shown the precarious conditions in which migrants get informal jobs, this has had repercussions on their survival, especially in quarantines due to the pandemic.
Exploitation Route The outcomes of this project will be reinforced to the decision makers in each of the countries of the study. The results and conclusions will help to create policies that take into consideration the migrant population. This will allow governments to establish an Andean Network in which knowledge and each countries` experiences will be shared in order to improve the institutional response to venezuelan migrants.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Healthcare

Government

Democracy and Justice

URL https://redsami.com/
 
Description The results of the research have already been processed by each participating country. The presentation of the results to the decision makers of each country and the region has had a positive impact for the generation of future public policies that seek to respond to the real needs of the migrant population, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our work has been used responsibly by the different state entities and ministries of each country, in addition to serving as a basis for future research. Currently, there are two published books titled: "Venezuelan Migration in the Andes. The health response of Peru, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador". The other book is titled "Health and Migration. How the Peruvian system has served Venezuelans."
First Year Of Impact 2020
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Policy & public services

 
Description LANCET MIGRATION Board
Geographic Reach South America 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact It has been possible to systematize the response of the countries to the migrations of the Venezuelan population to the four countries of the Andean area, analyzing their impacts and how to improve the inclusion of migrants in health care. Much information from national and partial studies has been shared with policy makers and national authorities. The scope of the activities of the Network built in the four countries has been the basis for Lancet Migration to invite 3 of the national leaders (Colombia, Peru and Chile) to be part of its board.
URL https://redsami.com/
 
Description Latin American researchers and associate organisations 
Organisation Cayetano Heredia University
Country Peru 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Sponsoring for the research and creation of an andean network for venezuelan migrants
Collaborator Contribution Research on the status of venezuelan migrants in four different countries in Latin America: Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru
Impact Conferences made by national and international authorities on the topic of migration, each conference focused on each countries´ experience National reports on the status of venezuelan migrants, health and gubernamental response to this topic Alliances with national authorities on each of the health ministries Published book and scientific articles
Start Year 2020
 
Description Latin American researchers and associate organisations 
Organisation Pontifical Xavierian University
Country Colombia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Sponsoring for the research and creation of an andean network for venezuelan migrants
Collaborator Contribution Research on the status of venezuelan migrants in four different countries in Latin America: Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru
Impact Conferences made by national and international authorities on the topic of migration, each conference focused on each countries´ experience National reports on the status of venezuelan migrants, health and gubernamental response to this topic Alliances with national authorities on each of the health ministries Published book and scientific articles
Start Year 2020
 
Description Latin American researchers and associate organisations 
Organisation Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Salud Pública (SESP)
Country Ecuador 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Sponsoring for the research and creation of an andean network for venezuelan migrants
Collaborator Contribution Research on the status of venezuelan migrants in four different countries in Latin America: Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru
Impact Conferences made by national and international authorities on the topic of migration, each conference focused on each countries´ experience National reports on the status of venezuelan migrants, health and gubernamental response to this topic Alliances with national authorities on each of the health ministries Published book and scientific articles
Start Year 2020
 
Description Latin American researchers and associate organisations 
Organisation University for Development
Country Chile 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Sponsoring for the research and creation of an andean network for venezuelan migrants
Collaborator Contribution Research on the status of venezuelan migrants in four different countries in Latin America: Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru
Impact Conferences made by national and international authorities on the topic of migration, each conference focused on each countries´ experience National reports on the status of venezuelan migrants, health and gubernamental response to this topic Alliances with national authorities on each of the health ministries Published book and scientific articles
Start Year 2020
 
Description "Andean Migration and Health" conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Conference about Andean Migration and Health in Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia, with expositions from the national researchers in each country: Juan Arroyo, Baltica Cabieses, Irene Torres and Andres Cubillos
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.facebook.com/209185384219883/videos/305594700672421
 
Description "Health and Migration in Ecuador: results of a mixed methods study" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact "Health and Migration in Ecuador: results of a mixed methods study" with the exposition of Irene Torres and Daniel Lopez-Zevallos, researchers who presented the results of their research on venezuelan migration in Ecuador
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.facebook.com/209185384219883/videos/189337945855663
 
Description "Health care for Venezuelan migrants" conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact "Health care for Venezuelan migrants" conference with the expositions of Juan Arroyo, Ietza Bojorquez, Gustavo Franco, Jose Koechlin, Feline Freier and Maritza Ortiz, academic experts on the topic of migration
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.facebook.com/209185384219883/videos/2882462155300808
 
Description "Health, Venezuelan Migration and Andean Region" conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact "Health, Venezuelan Migration and Andean Region" conference included expositions of representatives of Chile, Peru, Eduador and Colombia`s health ministries.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.facebook.com/209185384219883/videos/354761698941430
 
Description "Peru: the challenge of migration for the health sector" conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact "Perú: the challenge of migration for the health sector" conference with the expositions of: Juan Arroyo, Jose Koechlin, Robin Cavagnoud and Jorge Baca, experts on the matter of migration
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.facebook.com/209185384219883/videos/661941750977595
 
Description Colloquium "Continuing the path: migrant populations and health systems in Latin America. ExperieColloquium "Continuing the path: migrant populations and health systems in Latin America. Experiences from: Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile"nces from: Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Postgraduate students attended and exchanged their experiences around research and future research on the subject of health and migration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Conference for academic community and experts 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Conference on "The 2021 migration wave: Peru's health response", organized by the Peruvian network with the participation of Juan Arroyo, Maritza Ortiz, Carlos Arosquipa, Báltica Cabieses, Andrés Cubillos, José Koechlin and María Amalia Pesantes.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Conference for experts, academics, university students and public in general 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact It was a conference called "Continuing the path: migrant populations and health systems in Latin America. Experiences from: Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile", organised by the Colombian network with the participation of Ietza Bojorquez (Mexico), Andrés Cubillos (Colombia), Irene Torres (Ecuador), Juan Arroyo (Peru) and Báltica Cabieses (Chile).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Conference on "The 2018-2020 migration wave: Peru's health response 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Organizations interested in the subject of health in vulnerable patients such as the migrant population attended. A debate developed through different points of view.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description International Webinar "Venezuelan migratory flows and their challenges in Chile" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact International Webinar "Venezuelan migratory flows and their challenges in Chile" with the presentation of Claudia Silva and comments of Baltica Cabieses, Juan Arroyo, Andres Cubillos, Irene Torres and Daniel Larenas-Rosa, experts on the topic of migration in latinamerican countries
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.facebook.com/RedSAMIoficial/photos/259948982476856
 
Description International conversation: "Venezuela Migration, refuge and stay" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact International conversation: "Venezuela Migration, refuge and stay" with the expositions of Luz Marina Rojas, Mauricio Phelan, Aura Marina Boadas and Emilio Osorio
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.facebook.com/RedSAMIoficial/photos/248438803627874
 
Description Migrant pedagogy: peer research experiences with the Venezuelan population in Ecuador 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Served public interested in research in the area of health and migration
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020,2021
 
Description Venezuelan migrants on the northern border: Finding their way between the COVID-19 and the immigration control regime 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact NGOs, health professionals and other interest groups attended, generating questions and discussing the topic.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Venezuelan migration and health in Ecuador: risk management and humanitarian response 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Policy makers, NGOs and interest groups attended and exchanged opinions regarding risk management in the face of Venezuelan migration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021