NONTRADITIONAL IMMIGRANTS IN KYIV

Living Conditions of Nontraditional Immigrants in KyivThirty percent of immigrants paid for medical services; nearly 70% ofPakistanis paid for medical services, as did 50% of immigrants fromMiddle Eastern countries, and 40% of Vietnamese.Given that most medical services require payment, access to medicalhelp is quite restricted to a certain proportion of immigrants, primarilyrefugees and asylum seekers who do not have documents issued by thegovernment, nor funds to pay for private medical care. The UNHCROffice in Ukraine provides some assistance in resolving this problem.Pursuant to the agreement signed between this organization and thedepartmental hospital for oil and gas industry employees in Ukraine,beginning in 1995 immigrants have been receiving medical assistancebased on a referral from the UNHCR Reception Center. In 2001 alonenearly 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers visited this hospital. Emergencyintervention and treatment in specialized clinics are financed, whenevernecessary. Children are vaccinated against diphtheria. Within the frameworkof “Women’s Health” program, clinical examinations of refugeewomen are provided by the Kyiv Gynecological Center. Respondents andmembers of their families obtained medical assistance paid by charitableorganizations in 13% of all cases.These were individuals who would otherwisebe entirely deprived of access to medical care.Another possible way for immigrants to obtain medical services, likemost public services, turned out to be visits to “their own” doctors, whoat the present time are generally engaged in trading at the market. Forexample, the Afghani community has its own male doctor and femaledoctor, the latter treating women.The doctor “receives” his or her patientsat the bazaar stall, where s/he prescribes medication, gives massages, andreceives payment.The patients are satisfied.There is no need to waste timeand money searching for medical assistance. “Their own” doctor has agood grasp of their problems and can always provide help, if not throughtreatment, then at least with advice. Nevertheless, in more complicatedmedical cases this kind of care would not be sufficient.HOUSINGInformation collected during the study revealed that although immigrants’income on average is somewhat higher than that of Kyiv residents,their access to many consumer goods and services, including essentialones, such as education and medical services, is limited. However, this| 63 |