Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Initiative (RAHI) at UCSF

The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Initiative (RAHI) is a grassroots organization founded by Dr. Fatima Karaki, a physician at the University of California, San Francisco, who works with refugee populations locally and internationally. After witnessing firsthand the massive humanitarian crisis of Syrian refugees in the Middle East and Europe, the large number of refugees and asylum seekers in the Bay Area, and the need for inclusion of minority researchers, physicians and community members for those vulnerable populations, Dr. Karaki established RAHI. She envisioned a holistic approach that incorporates evidence-based medical research, cultural competency, social determinants of health, and international collaboration to improve health outcomes for refugees and asylum seekers around the world.

RAHI works to improve refugee and asylum seeker health care through:

Research - Performing health needs assessments to develop sustainable health interventions.

Clinical Care - Providing medical relief and humanitarian work in the global refugee crises.

Community Involvement - Engaging with locally resettled refugees and asylees in the Bay Area.

Education - Developing a course on Refugee Health in the Middle East with UC Berkeley.