Promoting Health from Outside the State: La Comunidad, Migrants, and Hometown Associations

Abstract

Migrants and organizational collectives, such as hometown associations (HTAs), have sent remittances to their countries of origin in an attempt to alleviate unmet health care needs. Additionally, migrants will use collective funds to rehabilitating roads; improving sewage systems and water quality; constructing recreational facilities; and refurbishing community buildings. All of these projects contribute to public health. The question explored in this paper is how remittances from abroad potentially contributes to the health of hometown communities. This focus on health and related issues allows for exploring HTA cross-border work as particularly informative in understanding state/society relations. In effect, we bring light to how a migrant transnational social movement can attempt to address health needs in its hometown. The Comparative Immigrant Organization Project (CIOP) is used to answer this question.  For this paper, the level of analysis for the CIOP is organizational.