Health vulnerabilities of undocumented central and Eastern European migrants in Switzerland

Abstract

Destitute undocumented Central and Eastern European migrants, who include homeless people, beggars, and sex workers, are in a highly vulnerable position in Switzerland. In the absence of residence permits, their access to health services and insurance is severely limited, and they suffer from severe institutional discrimination in Swiss medical facilities. The aim of this study is to examine the health vulnerabilities of destitute mobile Eastern European citizens in Geneva and Zürich. To do this, we carried out narrative-biographical interviews with destitute migrants (n = 38) and conducted a survey (n = 126) on their level of access to medical facilities. The results show that our respondents often carried health vulnerabilities originally developed and diagnosed in their home countries to Switzerland. This tendency can be observed particularly in the case of psychiatric disorders and substance abuse. Destitute migrants mostly receive therapies and medicines in their countries of origin but survive untreated in Switzerland subsequent to arrival. Without Swiss health insurance, they turn to medical services only in cases of emergency, and even then, they are either rejected or discharged after very brief treatments. This dangerous combination of individual and systemic health vulnerabilities highly exacerbates the disadvantages of destitute Eastern Europeans and hampers their integration into Swiss society.