Updated on: August 19, 2004 17:23
Medical Aid for Foreigners in Hamamatsu (MAF Hamamatsu)
Free Medical Check-up for Foreigners
The activities from last year:
- 1. 1 Free medical check-up for foreigners
- 2. Medical check-up at Brazilian schools (there are 3 schools in Hamamatsu)
The background of our activities
We have held free medical check-ups for foreigners for 7 years. It started with Hamamatsu Naka Rotary Club that held free medical check-up as a memorial event of their 10th anniversary of the founding in 1996.
n the event, volunteer groups such as "Helath-No-Kai" that had been supporting and consulting with foreigners in Hamamatsu made a supporting system, and many doctors, dentists, medical staffs, interpreters, and volunteers cooperated in it. The first free medical checkup was held in 27th October 1996, and 259 foreigners came.
The revision of Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 1990 enabled "Nikkei" Brazilians and Peruvians to work in Hamamatsu region, where more and more facory workers were needed. As a result, the number of foreigners increased sharply. In addition, problems such as accidents during work and health conditions had been rising gradually, as well as their family concerns such as, education for children. After the so called, "bubble economy," foreign workers and their families were driven to terrible medical conditions because of economic recession. For such reason, we started to get involved in the medical problems of foreigners.
The public medical insurance system excluded foreigners
As for health insurance, most of the foreign workers who came to Japan around 1990 didn't join any social insurance if their employers were employment agencies. The national health insurance was difficult to join, so many foreigners didn't join any insurance.
As for outpatient treatments and check-ups, it became difficult to go to a hospital on weekdays or Saturdays, because of their hard working condition, and few foreigners were able to get an annual medical check-up. In addition, people who couldn't speak Japanese very well and couldn't ask for medical interpreters also had great difficulties of going to a hospital.
In such condition, we came to think seriously that a free medical check-up for such people is necessary and we started to take action.
Establishing an organization and running activities for 7 years
After the first check-up, main people of the project had a discussion about the future. They agreed to establish an organization to continue free medical check-up for foreigners, because the public medical insurance system was insufficient for foreigners.
"Medical Aid for Foreigners in Hamamatsu" (MAF Hamamatsu). Since then, annual free medical check-up for foreigners residing near Hamamatsu is held every October.
The results of our activities
For these 7 years, the number of applicants to the check-up has been increasing and so has the number of supporters. At first, the number of volunteers was less than 100, but now, more than 300 people participate as volunteers. As a result, more people started to acknowledge the importance and enjoy the richness of the multicultural society. At the same time, they came to recognize the true roll of the free medical check-ups.
Hamamatsu City government has dealt with public services for foreigners for these recent years. The mayor of Hamamatsu visited the check-up site in the year 2000, and he recognized condition of applicants' without any medical insurances. As a result, the mayor loosened the city policy regulations toward joining the national health insurance, which enabled more foreigners to join the national health insurance. Thus the MAF activities have accomplished both visible and invisible successes.
Medical check-up for children
Primary health care for children enables early finding of chronic diseases. Japanese school children usually gets such check-ups at schools. However, children at the Brazilian School don't. Therefore, we started medical check-up for children attending the Brazilian schools in Hamamatsu from 2002.
Trends and future
The more immigrant families settle, the more diverse concerns about them arise. Latin-American countries' economy is under long-time recession, which is forcing "Nikkei" to stay in Japan longer. Such issue requires consideration and need a new action.
As for MAF, its activities must be reconsidered, for example, including mental counseling section dealing with applicants' with eating disorder and stress from their work. In addition, it is also important to create networks with employers and local hospitals so that the immigrant patients with health problems can easily get a following treatment.
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