The Right to Health of Migrant Children in Chile

Abstract

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The exercise of the right to health for the child population in Chile is a complex issue since some structural difficulties mainly affect migrant children. In order to account for the barriers that migrant children experience in the exercise of this right, a review of the current regulations is presented, showing that international treaties and administrative regulations (decrees, official documents, among others) fail to overcome the barriers they face, given their double condition of vulnerability, due to their age and ethnic-”racial”-national origin. In addition, 31 girls and boys between six and 17 years of age in the metropolitan region were interviewed using a qualitative methodology. Finally, some of their experiences are analyzed in light of previous research on the migrant population’s access to health care in Chile, raising some reflections on the particular consequences for migrant children concerning the barriers to access to the national health system.