Paper short abstract:

A case study of 5 ethnic associations actively involved on health will be presented to discuss a form of community welfare in which associations can be described as health provider for their communities and migrants became more than service users, but also providers and defenders of the right to health

Paper long abstract:

Within the last two years a group of anthropologists, sociologists and jurists has been working on migrant's access to health services in the city of Turin, Italy. The research stressed the role that associations, ngos, third sector and charities play in the city as subjects active in the health sector for the most marginalized groups of citizens (e.g. alternative health services for undocumented migrants, information campaigns and mediation between migrants and the national health services).

A new subject of the civil society appeared in the Italian cities in the past few decades: migrants' associations. The role of migrants' associations in promoting health has not been studied in literature as still few of them worked directly and exclusively on health. Starting from the emerge of this new actor, my paper discusses the role that associations of foreigners can play in terms of health and welfare.

The role of five associations has been analysed to point out a form of community welfare in which associations can be described as health providers for their communities and migrants became more than services users, but also services providers. In order to describe migrants' associations commitment and to make the observations comparable with other contexts, the five associations' work was analysed from the stand point of human rights, with reference to the fundamental criteria identified by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights through which migrants' associations were identified as means to access and accept services, as well as promoting health literacy.