Social Justice

As we begin the countdown to the end of the year, we at Migrant Clinicians Network are celebrating all the successes we have had this year -- and we’re already revving up for a very busy 2016. Support our work: please give to MCN this month. Between now and December 31st, your tax-deductible donations will have double the impact, with our $1 for $1 matching grant. Your donations make a big difference to ensure that we can get our work done!

Another very busy week! Even with the holidays now upon us, we at MCN are still at full speed ahead, fighting for health justice for the mobile poor. Here is a handful of articles that we at MCN found informative and eye-opening this week. We hope you enjoy them too.

Mayra Melendez was seven years old when she moved with her family to Salisbury, Maryland from Lima, Peru in 2001. “My dad came here with an H1B visa, through an employer,” Melendez recalled.

We’re feeling very grateful for the wonderfully vibrant and dedicated community of migrant clinicians that we serve. Thank you for your hard work in the fight for health justice for the mobile poor! Our successes rely on your dedication to serving mobile populations around the country and beyond.

So, before we pull out the stuffing and gravy, we at MCN wanted to share an incredible year of successes in the world of migrant health. Here are our 2015 Health Justice Highlights, in the year so far:

This weekend, Migrant Clinicians Network co-hosted the First Annual Women’s Conference, with the theme of “Gender, Migration, and Community Leadership,” here in our hometown of Austin, Texas. The conference aimed to increase social service providers' awareness of gender issues, including detection and response to gender-based violence, encouraging a gender-based perspective on migration and community leadership so as to better serve the Austin community.

We’ve had another very busy week at MCN. Here are some updates from the world of public health and health justice that we thought you’d enjoy, chosen by MCN staff members.

1. Claire, Writer and Editor: Tomorrow is World Diabetes Day, where we work to make healthy eating a right, not a privilege. Check out the World Diabetes Day website for more. 

Our fall issue of Streamline, our quarterly clinical publication, is hot off the presses! Download the new issue and view dozens of back issues here. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the content, in this video abstract produced by Tiffy Daud, our Graphic Designer. 

Happy Halloween! If, by chance, you haven’t yet purchased your stash of candy for tomorrow’s tiny Elsas and Batmans at the front door, consider buying fair trade chocolate or other ethical treats, to ensure that cacao farms are free of child labor and cacao farm workers are paid equitably.

In August, the cost of Daraprim was raised from $13.50 to $750 per pill. The drug, known generically as Pyrimethamine, does not have a generic currently on the market. Last month, the news of the 5000 percent price increase went viral on social media, splashed across major newspapers, spurred conversation amongst politicians and a presidential candidate, and even made it into the world of satire on Saturday Night Live.