Health Status of and Intervention for US-Bound Kosovar Refugees—Fort Dix, New Jersey, May-July 1999

Abstract

In March 1999, as a result of armed conflict in the Kosovo province of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, approximately 860,000 ethnic Albanians sought refuge in neighboring Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the Republic of Montenegro--Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. As a result of massive refugee movement into FYROM, many nations, including the United States, accepted refugees for resettlement. Refugee processing centers were established in FYROM and the United States. In the United States, the Migration Health Assessment (MHA) of refugees was undertaken at Fort Dix, New Jersey (i.e., Operation Provide Refuge), in collaboration with the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP), Public Health Service, under the direction of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Assessments in Skopje, FYROM, were conducted by the International Organization for Migration. This report summarizes the results of collaboration between OEP and CDC to provide preventive health programs for 4045 Kosovar refugees at Fort Dix during a 10-week period, which found that the refugees were in good health and underscores the need for a tailored intervention program targeted at the health conditions of the specific population.