- Anonymous refugee in PNG During the past 11 years, Australia’s policy of offshore processing has caused at least 14 deaths and significant physical and mental harm to the thousands of refugees and people seeking asylum subjected to unimaginable cruelty in detention centres in Nauru and Manus Island (PNG). [...] Of the people ASRC is currently in contact with: 20% of refugees in PNG are so unwell that their lives are at imminent risk 100% of the refugees in PNG, and 65% of people held in Nauru suffer physical health conditions 88% of the refugees in PNG, and 22% of people held in Nauru suffer severe mental health conditions 100% of people in PNG reported difficulty accessing medical care, including being. [...] Overcrowding, lack of sanitation or appropriate standards of hygiene, and accounts of sexual and physical assault have been documented and are only the tip of the iceberg regarding the endemic medical issues in offshore detention. [...] 2023 | Open letter by Australian healthcare experts calling for the immediate evacuation of people held in Nauru and PNG A group of 400 + Australian healthcare professionals and organisations (doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals) penned an open letter to the Prime Minister and Australian Members of Parliament, calling for the immediate evacuation of those held in PNG and Nauru. [...] 2019 | The introduction and repeal of the Medevac Law In March 2019, the ‘Medevac Law’ came into effect to introduce a framework for the transfer of refugees and people seeking asylum held in offshore processing countries to receive critical medical care in Australia not available in Nauru and PNG at the recommendation of medical professionals.
Authors
- Pages
- 32
- Published in
- Australia
Table of Contents
- Few other countries go to such lengths to deliberately inflict suffering on people seeking safety and freedom. 2
- Current health data 3
- Medical foreword 4
- Dr Nilanthy Vigneswaran Infectious Diseases Fellow 4
- Now more than ever is the time for open discourse about the need for an overhaul of a failed policy and the healthcare provision to refugees and people seeking asylum. 5
- ASRCs detention casework service 6
- Papua New Guinea 8
- Background 8
- Despair destitution and sickness 9
- What healthcare is provided in PNG 11
- Other contributing factors to poor physical and mental health 12
- The rates of mental and physical illness in people who were held offshore were higher than observed in comparable onshore populations and markedly higher than mainstream populations. 12
- Denied access to food secure housing and basic essentials 12
- Frequent violence and threats to human life and safety 13
- CASE STUDY 13
- Ongoing uncertainty and engagement in resettlement pathways 14
- Impacts on children 15
- CASE STUDY 16
- I dream for me and my family to have a normal life to be safe and happy again in a new country go to school and have friends. 17
- History repeating in Nauru 17
- Background 17
- We cant see our future everyone is uncertain everyone is afraid they ask what will happen to us Will they forget us just leave us here How many years 10 years 18
- An emerging health crisis 18
- Key areas of concern 19
- Inadequate mental health support no psychiatric care facility and limitations of new torture trauma counselling model 19
- Limited and delayed dental care 19
- Lack of specialist care 20
- No after hours primary care or emergency care 20
- CASE STUDY 20
- Issues with access to medications 20
- I talked to the doctor several times. They just say they are restocking but it is always an issue. 20
- What healthcare is provided in Nauru 21
- We have here an environment that is inherently toxic It has characteristics which over time reliably cause harm to peoples mental health. We have very clear evidence that thats the case. 23
- Of course our medical facilities are not as what may be expected by others but what we do is send them overseas. 24
- Conclusion 25
- RECOMMENDATIONS 25
- Appendix 27
- A shameful legacy The physical and mental health impacts of detention 27
- 2023 Open letter by Australian healthcare experts calling for the immediate evacuation of people held in Nauru and PNG 27
- 2023 PNG Chief Migration Officer reports imminent medical evacuations from PNG to Australia 28
- 2023 Albanese Government reauthorises Nauru as a regional processing country the Migration Amendment Evacuation to Safety Bill 2023 was introduced and defeated 28
- 2023 ASRC report Finish this Crisis Stories exposing the horrors of offshore detention 28
- 2023 UN Human Rights Council in Geneva raises concerns about Australias detention policies 28
- 2022 The UN Committee Against Torture calls for the Australian Government to end offshore processing 29
- 2020 Médecins Sans Frontières MSF concludes tele-health programme in Port Moresby 29
- 2019 Independent Health Advisory Panel Quarterly report 29
- 2019 The introduction and repeal of the Medevac Law 29
- 2018 Australian coroner finds offshore death related to inadequate medical care 30
- 2018 Médecins Sans Frontières MSFDoctors without Borders report on Nauru 30
- 2017 ASRC visits Manus Island Detention Centre 31
- 2016 Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report Appalling abuse abuse neglect of refugees on Nauru 31
- 2014 International Health and Mental Services IHMS whistleblower Dr Peter Young describes Manus Island conditions as akin to torture 32
