Community-based initiatives as a way to improve healthcare access for undocumented migrants
(2026) Fighting Divisions: Conflict and Power in a Post Globalisation Order 38th Annual SASE Conference — Location: Bordeaux (July.2026)
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- Abstract
- This abstract introduces research that aims to explore how undocumented migrants organize collectively to address health issues, and the influence of these organizational structures on their access to healthcare. Situated within the field of public health, the research project is guided by broader democratic concern of promoting social justice for communities that are structurally excluded from national welfare systems. The objectives of the research are: (1) to explore how community-based organizations involving undocumented migrants operate and (2) to identify the links between these organizations and their access to healthcare. To this end, this paper focuses on undocumented migrants in Belgium, examining both existing theoretical knowledge on healthcare access. Existing literature highlights multiple individual and institutional barriers that limit undocumented migrants’ access to healthcare. In Belgium, undocumented migrants can access care through Medical State Aid, which aims to guarantee access to a range of curative and preventive healthcare services. In practice, however, it generates significant inequalities in access to healthcare when compared to the general population who have access to national welfare systems. It is estimated that only around 20% of undocumented migrants take up Medical State Aid, due to several reasons such as administrative complexity, lack of information, fear of control, and discretionary practices at the local level. Thus, undocumented migrants often rely on humanitarian organizations or hospital emergency services. Scholars have demonstrated that such exclusionary systems not only worsen health outcomes but also undermine trust in institutions and discourage early care-seeking behaviour. In response to these structural gaps, community-based organizations have emerged, providing a solidarity response to issues of healthcare access. Unlike top-down interventions, community-based organizations emerge from within the communities concerned and are better positioned to identify health priorities, design context-sensitive responses, and inform changes in their socio-political environment.
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Citations
Guiheneuf, C. (2026, July 3). Community-based initiatives as a way to improve healthcare access for undocumented migrants. Fighting Divisions: Conflict and Power in a Post Globalisation Order 38th Annual SASE Conference, Bordeaux. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/279217