REfugees Act and Communicate for Health (REACH) is a regional initiative of Columbia University, which aims to bridge the gap in health literacy and health care access among refugee and local youth via digital health technologies in countries mostly affected by forced migration. The initiative is being led by Dr. Yanis Ben Amor, Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Earth Institute, Columbia University and Dr. Özge Karadağ Çaman, Senior Staff Associate.
On September 10, Columbia University hosted a high-level expert consultation meeting in Istanbul with local experts to discuss how best to use digital health technologies to increase young refugees’ access to health information and services in Turkey and the region. The consultation meeting explored steps that academia, civil society, and businesses can take to strengthen the REACH initiative through the participation and contributions of all involved parties, and concluded with the development of a long-term plan.
This initiative is supported by the Presidential Global Initiative Fund (PGIF) at Columbia University and the International Cooperation and Development Fund of Taiwan (TaiwanICDF).
