Ensuring Access to Healthcare: Operational Guidance on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas

The Public Health and HIV (PHHIV) section produced this operational guidance for public
health programming in urban settings for refugees and asylum seekers (henceforth
referred to as refugees) to provide practical guidance that can be adapted according to
differing contexts. It draws on best practices and illustrative examples from cities and towns
where the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is currently working with urban refugees. The
public health role of UNHCR is more complex and less well defined in non-camp settings.
There are multiple health service providers in cities including state, private and local and
international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). UNHCR’s aim in urban settings is for
refugees to access quality health services at a level similar to that of nationals. UNHCR’s major role in urban settings is to advocate for and facilitate quality health services to be available to and accessed by refugees. While working with government and city authorities, UNHCR engages with a wide range of actors promoting shared responsibility, and advocates for an appropriate resource base to enable the needs of refugees to be met.

The UNHCR policy on refugee protection and solutions in urban areas elaborates a threepronged approach - advocacy, support, and monitoring & evaluation. UNHCR advocates on behalf of refugees to ensure that authorities make public services including health services available at similar or lower costs to that of nationals. UNHCR supports and facilitates integration into and strengthening of the national public health system. This may include direct funding or indirect support via partners. UNHCR assesses, monitors, and evaluates the health, nutritional, educational and economic status of refugees, ensuring needs are met in line with accepted standards and that quality services are available and accessible.