LKS Medical Faculty MEHU
Addressing health inequities experienced by Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong
Addressing health inequities experienced by Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong
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Addressing health inequities experienced by Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

Registration Link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?ueid=86571

Title: “Addressing health inequities experienced by Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong”

Speaker:
Miss Elizabeth Ng
MBBS Year IV Student, HKUMed

Abstract:
This essay discusses the health inequities experienced by Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong as a result of differential social determinants of health and access to healthcare. FDHs may endure poor living and working conditions due to various reasons: to earn money for their families back home, to clear the debt they owe to employment agencies to secure jobs overseas, not knowing their labour rights and more. Despite their contribution to the city with their hard work, they are barely considered a part of the population, as reflected by governmental response to the pandemic. Whether it is the enforcement of public health measures that are discriminatory to FDHs in particular or providing health information inclusive of the group, more needs to be done to protect them as a vulnerable population. This essay finally discusses the joint responsibility of the Hong Kong government and the Filipino/ Indonesian government (where most FDHs are from) in doing so. Recommendations include having representatives in positions of government that advocate for their rights and demands, health campaigns to engage FDHs in a meaningful way that empowers them to take on a more active role in protecting their health, as well as educating employers on ethical conduct in the employment of FDHs.

About the Speaker:
Elizabeth is a Year 4 medical student who studied a masters of science in bioethics at Columbia Universigy during her enrichment year. She has also been a speaker at the past 2022 conference for the Asia Pacific Bioethics Education Network, where she discusses her experience with ethics as a medical student at HKU and a bioethics student at Columbia. Her bioethics interest relates to global ethics, disability ethics, and race and bioethics, with a focus on the health inequities of Migrant Domestic workers in Hong Kong. She was inspired to write her thesis finally on the health inequities experienced by foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong through her observed experiences working as a volunteer for Pathfinders, an NGO in Hong Kong that supports pregnant domestic workers and their babies.

 

Enquiry: Please contact Ms. May Fung (mehu@hku.hk).

 

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