Chinese Migrant Workers in Kenya: Their Health Status and Access to Health Care

Abstract

The international movement of people is an essential part of a globalizing world.1 The increasing migration of population creates new challenges for global health systems, which have to adapt in order to remain responsive.2-3 China now has more people traveling or working overseas than at any other moment in its history.4-5 With 35 million Chinese living overseas and more than 800,000 Chinese migrant workers temporarily employed abroad, Chinese migrants face challenges and possible inequalities in health care access globally.5-6 In this study, we found that the general social and health status of Chinese migrants in Kenya is relatively good, but they still encounter barriers in accesses to health care in the country. Our study showed that most of the Chinese migrants are young adult males who are relatively wealthy but have little health insurance to cover them. They are also well-educated and are typically employed by construction companies. The health status of these migrants is relatively better than the Kenyan population as well as the population in China.28 However, many of them are living alone and experience barriers to health care including language barrier and a poor perception of health services in Kenya.