Portugal denies visas to midwives travelling to global congress in Lisbon

Portugal has denied visas to at least 20 midwives from Africa and Asia who were due to attend a major international congress in Lisbon this weekend – and no one can work out quite why.

ICM, the International Confederation of Midwives hosting the congress, is doing its best to persuade authorities to reconsider, saying the decision is excluding some of the world’s most experienced frontline maternal healthcare professionals.

A petition, already signed by over 100 healthcare professionals and experts, is urging an ‘urgent review’ of the visa denials.

This blow comes at a time when Lisbon has been getting recognition as a global business events hub, and leading destination for international associations and professional gatherings.

According to ICM, the professionals refused visas come from countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo*, Bangladesh and India.

The congress, which officially begins tomorrow, and runs until June 18 (next Thursday), is a triennial event, focused on reducing maternal and newborn mortality. Discussions will centre on tackling the estimated 260,000 annual deaths of women during pregnancy or childbirth, and the 4.2 million babies who die at birth or within their first month of life.

Expressing her frustration at being excluded to AFP news agency, Harriet Akello, an executive at the NGO Mother Health International, which works in remote communities in Uganda, said: “I was prepared to lead a session on how evidence-based recommendations can keep women and babies alive in the most challenging circumstances (…) Decision-makers from around the world are in Lisbon, and here I am in Uganda, explaining to an embassy why I should be allowed to travel!”

ICM adviser Kate Stringer said the absence of experts from regions with some of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates will weaken discussions.

“We need to hear from leading researchers, those on the front lines of the fight against preventable deaths,” said Stringer. “Every two minutes, a mother dies. These visa refusals silence precisely those we most need to hear from.”

It is not explained within online texts whether the excluded speakers can address the congress via video link, which would be one (21st century) way around this issue. Curiously, the ICM website refers to ‘hundreds of midwives’ being excluded ‘from this global meeting’, not just 20.

Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs meantime has “defended the visa process”, in response to questions from Lusa news agency, saying all short-stay visa applications submitted through Portuguese consular services “are assessed under European rules”.

“All short-stay visa applications submitted at Portuguese consular posts are assessed and processed rigorously, objectively and factually, in full compliance with the rules and criteria set out in the Schengen Visa Code,” said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry added that the same procedures apply in countries where Portugal is represented by another Schengen member state’s consular services, and stressed that Portugal remains committed to the “swift, uniform and transparent” processing of visa applications.

NB *An outbreak of a strain of Ebola for which there is no vaccine, and no specific treatment, has put countries on the alert over any arrivals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Source material: SIC Notícias/ Lusa