The European Commission is making a wealth of resources available to professionals who may not be specially responsible or trained to work with migrants and refugees, but whose jobs nevertheless bring them into direct contact with these particularly vulnerable populations. New modules focus on mental health and communicable diseases, which were previously identified as areas in need of further development.

The training materials can be found at the Platform on Migration and Health, Training for Professionals in the EU Health Policy Platform (registration required) and are available in 10 languages (Bulgarian, Croatian, English, French, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Serbian, Slovenian and Spanish) . They are designed for either health professionals or law enforcement officers, with some units targeting both. They comprise 30 units, 16 on communicable diseases and 15 on mental health. Of the modules on communicable diseases, there is one common module, 11 for health professionals, and four for law enforcement officers, and on the topic of mental health there are four common modules, six for health professionals, and five for law enforcement officers.

Training packages include presentations, videos, and further reading materials, as well as activities and exercises for many of the modules, and pre- and post-tests for evaluations. The combination of common and specific modules for health professionals and law enforcement officers provides an opportunity for shared learning and for identifying opportunities for developing joint and/or coordinated strategies for meeting the needs of migrants and refugees. Country adaptations can be made to respond to specific situations. The European Commission contracted the development of this training. Modules were funded through the Health Programme via a contract coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Association for Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

This training adds to the previous Equihealth and MEM-TP materials, which can also be found on the Platform.