With the French health services overwhelmed during the coronavirus crisis, dozens of refugees and asylum seekers with medical expertise in their home countries are ready to volunteer their services as a gesture of "gratitude." However, most are still waiting for a chance to help.

"At thebeginning of the epidemic, watching the news on TV about the number ofpatients in emergency rooms and the overload on the health serviceswas very disturbing," explained Bayan Ustwani, a 53-year-oldSyrian refugee who has been living in France for five years. The newswas particularly disturbing for Ustwani since he has skills andexperience in the medical sector but could not put them to use inFrance's hour of need.

Ustwani, apharmacist in Syria, has not practiced since he left his nativecountry since he does not have French qualifications or an "equivalence" diploma. "To get it, I had to go back toschool for several years and I simply couldn't I had to workright away," explained Ustwani, who also holds a commercedegree.

The inability to puthis medical skills to work during the latest unprecedented publichealth crisis has been frustrating. "I can do a lot of things:running a monitor, making antibacterial gel from mixtures orwhatever," he said.

In March, as soon asFrance's nationwide lockdown began, Ustwani coordinated with adozen other migrant healthcare workers who were members of theFacebook group, "Syrian doctors and pharmacists in France"to offer their help "to the Ministry of Health, the PrimeMinister and the Red Cross."

"If Franceneeds us, we are ready and willing to help, even on a voluntarybasis," said Ustwani, who explained he wanted to help out as anact of "gratitude to France."

An extraordinaryappeal

As the deadlypandemic continued to spread, the French health ministry on March 25launched an appeal for active and retired health professionals tovolunteer to help their overextended colleagues cope with the crisis.

It was an expansivemobilization call in a sector known for its strict authorizationrequirements. To facilitate the use of all volunteers, France'sInter-ministerial Delegation for the Reception and Integration ofRefugees stated that refugees with diplomas from outside the EuropeanUnion (EU), who had worked in their countries of origin as doctors,dental surgeons or pharmacists, were authorized to work in Frenchpublic institutions, but "under a contractual status" andunder the supervision of an accredited doctor.

In a sign of the urgent nature of the situation, the government extended these conditions "during thecrisis" to "foreign nationals who do not have refugee status"in France.

A decree was alsopublished on April 1 authorizing doctors, dental surgeons, midwivesand pharmacists, with diplomas from outside the EU, to practice in someof France's overseas territories, which are considered "lessattractive" in the health sector.

'I'll doanything to help'

There has been noshortage of good will among migrants in France who have worked inhealth services in their countries of origin. A number of WhatsAppgroups, similar to Ustwani's Facebook group, have been set up amongmigrant candidates.

"I'll doanything to help," said Mohamed, a 39-year-old Libyan, quoted ina statement on the UN refugee agency UNHCR website. "I can workin the emergency department of a hospital in any position. I can bean assistant nurse, I can help give out information. For all thesepositions, it's very important to have hospital staff who know how todeal with such a situation."

Franoise Henry,secretary general of the Association for the Reception of RefugeeDoctors and Health Workers in France, known by the French acronymAPSR, says she is in contact with five professionals who applied forpositions in the Paris region, one of the country's biggest outbreakclusters. "They are people from French-speaking Africa, so theyhave a mastery of the language. One of them is an Algerian asylumseeker who was a nurse for 20 years," said Henry, noting that theformer nurse had already done two applications for recruitment inEssonne, a department around 50 kilometres south of Paris.

"They couldhelp with basic tasks, such as turning over a patient, which is an actthat requires a lot of staff," explained Henry.

'We must notforget the talents of refugees'

However, many suchrefugees or asylum seekers were still waiting for a response to theirapplications. Henry acknowledged that as of April 15, none of theprofessionals she was in contact with had received a call.

Of the ten or sohealth professionals on Ustwanis Facebook group, only one, an ENTsurgeon, had been contacted by a health establishment after sendingout his application. "I'm a bit surprised, but that's how itis," said Ustwani.

Faced with thissituation, which goes beyond the borders of France, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and theCouncil of Europe have urged EU countries to use refugee healthservice staff who have the necessary skills and experience. "Atthis critical time, we must not forget the talents of refugees,"said Cline Schmitt, UNHCR spokesperson in France. "Especiallysince we really feel this desire on the part of health professionalsto help the countries that have taken them in."

One of the tools tobest organize these reinforcements would be, according to UNHCR, theEuropean Refugee Qualification Passport.

Set up in 2017, theproject issues adocument providing an assessment of the higher educationqualifications aswell as informationon the applicant's work experience and language proficiency. Thesystem can "helpestablish a list of pre-assessed refugee health practitioners"and thus enable national health authorities to determine how best todeploy them if and when necessary. For Schmitt, the value of theEuropean Refugee Qualification Passport is evident. "Theexpertise exists," she explains, "and the solutions as well."

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'If France needs us, we're ready:' Migrant healthcare workers want to aid the fight against COVID-19 - InfoMigrants