New Chair for the Migrant and Refugee Health Partnership

Migration Council Australia (MCA) has appointed Dr Vijay Roach as Chair of the Migrant and Refugee Health Partnership (the Partnership).

MCA Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Partnership, Carla Wilshire OAM, said, “Dr Roach is an outstanding advocate for health equity and driving a paradigm shift in health care towards partnering with people and communities, taking into account their experiences, needs and preferences.”

Dr Roach is an obstetrician and gynaecologist in both public and private practice, and a lecturer at the University of Sydney, Wilshire said.

In 2018, he took office as President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and will commence his term as Chair of Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC) later this year.

Dr Roach previously chaired Gidget Foundation Australia, an organisation promoting awareness of perinatal anxiety and depression.

“It is an honour to be appointed as Chair of the Migrant and Refugee Health Partnership. Over the past five years, the Partnership has progressed a significant body of work on health promotion and prevention in migrant and refugee communities,” Dr Roach said.

The Partnership — established in 2016 and auspiced by MCA — is a migrant and refugee health body that brings health professionals and the community together to address systemic barriers to health access, experience and outcomes for migrant and refugee communities.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Les Cunliffe