Rejection of global migration compact a shot in the foot for Australia

Protesters hold up placards on Australia's migration policy during World Refugee Day in Brisbane, June 2018. Source: Shutterstock

THE VISA sponsor is in his late thirties.

By Marianne Dickie | 6th December 2018

He has gone public with his story in the hope that an intervention may help his wife’s visa be processed faster. The current wait time from the Home Affairs website is between 17-26 months.

For Australian resident Abi Sood, the desire to be with his wife is personal, his need individual.

And yet it is a need that is echoed across Australia for anyone sponsoring an applicant in the country’s family stream. The cost of making an application is extraordinarily high, the processing time tediously long. The silence from the department can seem ominous.

The dreams of applicants seem a long way from United Nations negotiations, yet they are intrinsically tied with Australia’s decision not to sign on to a non-binding compact aimed at enhancing safe, orderly and regular migration.

SEE ALSO: Hey immigration haters, it’s not just migrants draining Australia’s resources

The Global Compact on Migration is one of two agreements drawn up by the global community to address the impacts of increased forced and irregular migration (the other one being the Global Compact on Refugees). It is the result of one year of negotiations following the New York Declaration in 2016.

This process behind the drafting of the compact was astounding. It was a process clearly focused on migrant issues, where the global community has looked to better ways to address the challenges of global displacement. In this alone we can say it has been a success.

Yet despite this enormous achievement, Australia has joined pro-nationalist countries such as the US, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Israel, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland in publicly withdrawing from further negotiations.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Source: Reuters/Marcos Brindicci

Since Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement that Australia does not need to sign the compact, academics, practitioners, international commentators and policy centres have responded with explanations as to why he is wrong.

Behind the announcement was the public assertion by the government that the compact would “surrender sovereign control” of our border protection policies – that joining it would blur the lines between legal and illegal immigration.

This is clearly a red herring.

The final draft document rests on the principles and norms of international law instruments guiding human rights and migration. It is based on responsibility sharing and recognises that the benefits and vulnerabilities of migration are international issues beyond the capacity of a single state.

Importantly, the document recognises that drivers of migration can and do overlap. It also understands that migration undertaken as a necessity rather than a choice puts migrants at a great risk of human rights violations throughout their journey.

As a destination country, Australia’s isolationist response to the compact rejects the fundamental premise that no state can address migration alone.

SEE ALSO: Preventing Chinese influence in the Pacific has concerning historical parallels

This stance ignores the real benefits that participating in the compact could bring to Australia and to the region. Morrison has stated that we don’t have to join the agreement because Australia has already achieved the goals of “safe orderly migration”.

In many ways, this is correct. When you read through the compact, there are clear areas where Australia’s policies and programs meet its goals, such as providing a means of identification to migrants as well as access to education and healthcare.

However, Australia remains one of a handful of states that considers the objective of reducing migration a legitimate means of managing orderly migration.

The countries proposing not to sign the compact are essentially objecting to what they refer to as the ‘blurring of legal and illegal immigration’. This fine line represents the edges of migration law and it is here where the vulnerable migrant is most likely to be found.

In Australia’s case, it is not only asylum seekers who are vulnerable. The holders of student visas, seasonal worker visas, working holiday visas, partner visas and even temporary skilled visas also regularly experience vulnerability. Here is where the migrant lives in danger of becoming an irregular migrant, where a substantive visa holder can become an asylum seeker.

So why does Australia’s political narrative collide with the aims of the compact?

The answer is that the compact would require Australia to engage with the region and reverse many of the current trends it has implemented.

Such trends include the marked reduction in permanent migration and an increase in temporary visas; the reduction of the family program and the emphasis on high income migrants; decisions around working holiday visas that could take work away from Pacific Islanders; the huge increase in cancellations of permanent visas on character grounds; and the cancellation of citizenship for those born in Papua New Guinea.

When we look at these trends, along with decisions such as the defunding of refugee centres in Indonesia managed by the International Organisation for Migration, we can see a hardening of political rhetoric to migrants across the spectrum. This rhetoric ignores the very real gains and contributions Australia could have made through continued engagement with the Global Compact.

Asylum seekers protest on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, in this picture taken from social media November 6, 2017. Source: Social Media via Reuters

So, what would committing to the compact actually mean?

It would mean addressing the drivers of migration to ensure that people could migrate safely and in an orderly fashion. It would mean providing more family visas so people could be reunited quickly. Parents may actually be able to apply for a visa and be granted it in their lifetime.

It would mean opening the pathways to permanent residency for skilled and low-skilled workers such as Pacific Islanders working in regional Australia.

SEE ALSO: Prime Minister’s popularity rises after ‘Australia first’ immigration policy

It would mean ensuring skills can be recognised across borders, building capacity in countries of origin, and an active commitment to address racism and xenophobia in public commentary and the media.

On the world stage, it would help demonstrate leadership and improve Australia’s standing in the-Indo Pacific.

Failure to participate in the Global Compact on Migration has left Australia bereft of authority. It has reduced our ability to act as a strong and credible voice in our region on issues such as human trafficking, people smuggling, and forced migration.

Importantly for the Morrison government, this decision has removed any pretence of engaging in regional processing of asylum seekers and revealed the true policy of externalising borders for what it is.

This piece was first published at Policy Forum, Asia and the Pacific’s platform for public policy analysis and opinion. 

Civil service is near breaking point, union warns

By Martin Williams-6 Dec 2018

Staff complained of being overworked and understaffed – with some pointing to Brexit as a contributing factor.

Overstretched government departments are reaching breaking point, a civil service union has warned.

Staff complained of being overworked and understaffed, with some pointing to Brexit as a contributing factor.

A survey by the FDA union found more than 80% of top civil servants are having to put in extra unpaid hours – just to get their work finished.

A quarter said they usually give up between six and ten hours of their time every week. And nearly three quarters believe their department is understaffed.

Amy Leversidge, assistant general secretary of the union, told Channel 4 News: “There’s only so many more hours you can work in a day… In a lot of departments, goodwill has been exhausted and they still can’t get everything done.”

She warned: “We will end up at a point where things can’t be done.”

Respondents included senior officials from the Home Office, Foreign Office and the newly-created Brexit Department.

One Home Office employee claimed: “At one point immediately after EU exit I was covering what is now the work of several teams and I was struggling to cope … I began working extremely long hours and became extremely anxious and stressed. In the end I went for counselling.”

Another said they had “never felt so dispirited” after decades of working in the civil service. “Years are being taken off my life and my wellbeing and marriage suffer enormously,” they said.

An HMRC staffer complained: “Due to the pressures caused by Brexit, I have worked up to 60 hours per week over recent months.

“Working these additional hours would be more palatable if civil servants were not still subject to a pay freeze, and if ministers did not insist on criticising the performance of civil servants in the media.”

Around 70% of staff surveyed said that morale was running out in their department and it was having an impact on how effective their department was.

The FDA’s report claims there is a “worrying trend of working excessive hours becoming the ‘new normal’.” And many staff believe this is damaging their health and wellbeing, it said.

“Fundamentally, this cannot continue if the civil service is to deliver on the challenges ahead.”

Amy Leversidge warned: “At the moment, things are being managed by the dedication of civil servants… It’s the saving grace, really – the fact that they are putting in the goodwill. But that only lasts for so long.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson told Channel 4 News: “Civil Servants work incredibly hard to deliver important public services and projects, including laying the groundwork for the UK’s successful exit from the EU.

“This is recognised by senior leaders, and all staff have access to a range of flexible working arrangements to help them manage their work life balance more effectively.”

Insight: 'We can't go anywhere' - Myanmar closes Rohingya camps but 'entrenches segregation'

Thu Thu Aung, Simon Lewis-DECEMBER 5, 2018

YANGON (Reuters) - As the world was focused on abortive efforts to begin repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar last month, hundreds of their fellow Muslims still in Myanmar were boarding boats seeking to escape the country.

Their attempted flight cast the spotlight back on 128,000 Rohingya and other displaced Muslims still living in crowded camps in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, six years after Buddhist mobs razed most of their homes.

The government of Aung San Suu Kyi, under international pressure to address their plight, says it is now closing the camps on the grounds that doing so will help development and put the labour of camp residents to good use.

But Reuters interviews with more than a dozen residents from five camps and internal United Nations documents show the move simply means building new, more permanent homes next to the camps - rather than allowing them to return to the areas from which they fled - leaving their situation little changed.

Those that have moved into the new accommodation remain under the same severe movement restrictions as before, residents and staff working in the camps say. A network of official checkpoints and threats of violence by local Buddhists prevent Muslims from moving freely in Rakhine. As a result, those sources say, they are cut off from sources of livelihoods and most services, and reliant on humanitarian handouts.

“Yes, we moved to new houses – it’s correct to say (the camp is closed),” said Kyaw Aye, a community leader from a camp called Nidin, in central Rakhine. “But we’ll never be able to stand on our own feet because we can’t go anywhere.”

Reuters spoke to displaced Muslims in Rakhine by phone as reporters are denied independent access to the camps.

Myanmar’s Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye said the government was working with the United Nations on a national strategy to close camps housing people forced out of their homes by violence in Rakhine and elsewhere, known as internally displaced persons or IDPs.

There were no legal restrictions on the movements of displaced people in Rakhine, as long as they accepted a so-called national verification card that also gives them equal access to healthcare and education, he said in a written response to Reuters’ questions.

Aid workers and Muslim residents say severe restrictions persist even on those who have accepted the identity card, which most Rohingya reject because they say it treats them as foreigners who have to prove their nationality.

The U.N. chief in Myanmar, Knut Ostby, warned in a Sept. 24 private note that the government’s plan for camp closures “risks further entrenching segregation while denying IDPs many of their fundamental human rights”.

Ostby’s office declined to comment on the note, but in a written response to Reuters’ questions said the U.N. had been invited to comment on the government’s plans for closing camps and was preparing its response.

That response would include recommendations that all displaced people be granted freedom of movement, were involved in planning their resettlement and could return to their homes or another place of their choosing, Ostby said.


Hla Hla Shwe with her baby receives treatment at a clinic at Taungpaw an internally displaced people's camp in Rakhine state, Myanmar, November 19, 2018. Picture taken November 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

MARITIME ESCAPE

Rohingya community leaders say that improving conditions for those still living in Rakhine is one of the keys to persuading the hundreds of thousands sheltering in refugee camps in Bangladesh to return.

Some 730,000 fled a military crackdown after attacks by Rohingya militants in August 2017. U.N.-mandated investigators have said the Myanmar military unleashed a campaign of killings, rape and arson with “genocidal intent”. Myanmar has denied almost all the accusations against its troops, who it says engaged in legitimate operations against terrorists.

Refugees baulked at a plan for repatriating them that was supposed to begin in mid-November, arguing that conditions were not right for return.

Meanwhile, at least three boats, each carrying scores of men, women and children, have departed from Rakhine for Malaysia since monsoon rains abated in October, following the hazardous maritime escape route used for years by Rohingya fleeing what they say is persecution in Myanmar.

“If they are making the choice to go by boat, it’s clear proof of the conditions in the IDP camps,” said Khin Maung, a Rohingya youth activist in Bangladesh.

He is in touch with fellow Muslims who are “living like prisoners” in the camps in central Rakhine, Khin Maung said. “If they are living like that how can we agree to go back?”

Win Myat Aye, the minister, said Myanmar was working to improve the lives of both the IDPs and potential returnees.

“I assume that the displaced people are leaving with boats because they (have) not fully understood what we arranged for their accommodations, livelihoods and socio-economic development,” he said.

“INVESTING IN SEGREGATION”

One camp, among the 18 remaining in Rakhine, lies outside a central Rakhine town of Myebon, which was torn by communal violence in 2012.

The 3,000-strong Muslim community was expelled and put in the camp, known as Taungpaw, on a narrow strip between the now Buddhist-only town and the Bay of Bengal, in what was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.

This year authorities built 200 new houses on rice paddies next to the camp, despite concerns that the area was prone to flooding. They were inundated in early June. In September, the government also built two new buildings set to become Muslim-only schoolhouses.

“This is a sign the Rakhine state government is investing in permanent segregation rather than promoting integration,” said a previously unpublished memo dated Sept. 30 and circulated by U.N. officials setting out the concerns of aid workers operating in the camps. The U.N. said it did not comment on leaked documents.

Some Muslims in Myebon have Myanmar citizenship and others have accepted national verification cards. They say they still cannot visit the town, where communal tensions have stayed high since the 2012 violence. Rakhine Buddhists have at times blocked aid deliveries to the camp.

“Although they gave people new homes, if there’s still no freedom to move, there’s still no opportunity to do business,” said camp resident Cho Cho, 49.

Aung Thar Kyaw, a leader among the Rakhine Buddhist community in Myebon, said the two communities were too different to live together, labelling Muslims “so aggressive”.

Slideshow (5 Images)

“The government already built them new homes so they don’t need to enter town,” he said.
Lei Lei Aye, an official in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, referred questions about the specific concerns in Taungpaw to Rakhine state government officials, who could not be reached for comment.

“POLICY OF APARTHEID”

Despite the humanitarian community’s efforts to convince Myanmar to change course, including by giving technical advice on camp closures, “the only scenario that is unfolding before our eyes is the implementation of a policy of apartheid with the permanent segregation of all Muslims, the vast majority of whom are stateless Rohingya, in central Rakhine,” said an internal “discussion note”
prepared by the U.N.’s refugee agency in late September, first reported by Frontier Myanmar magazine and reviewed by Reuters.

Win Myat Aye said he was “not concerned” about such warnings because the government was progressing with its camp closure strategy in consultation with U.N. agencies, non-governmental groups and foreign diplomats.

The U.N. estimates humanitarian assistance in Rakhine will cost about $145 million next year.

Former residents of Nidin, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Taungpaw, told Reuters their situation had barely improved since state media declared the camp closed in August.

They are unable to return to Kyauktaw, the town where many lived and worked before the 2012 violence.

Tun Wai, a Rakhine Buddhist doctor in Kyauktaw, said Muslims could “go freely outside the town”. But if they try to return, he said, “they will be killed”.

Soe Lwin, deputy chief of the Kyauktaw police station, said Muslims “can’t enter the town”, but denied they would meet with violence. “We have the rule of law,” he said.

The Muslims now live marooned among rice paddies that do not belong to them. Rohingya fishermen say what they catch barely covers their rental costs as they do not own their equipment.
And with no clean water supply, children have contracted skin rashes from washing in agricultural run-off.

“We can’t even support our children because we don’t have income,” said former camp resident Khin Hla, 43. “Without aid, we would starve.”

Reporting by Thu Thu Aung and Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Alex Richardson

The 'great dying': rapid warming caused largest extinction event ever, report says

Up to 96% of all marine species and more than two-thirds of terrestrial species perished 252m years ago

A model in the study mimicking conditions in the Permian period suggests marine animals essentially suffocated in the warming waters. Photograph: John Raoux/AP

Oliver Milman in New York @olliemilman-Thu 6 Dec 2018 19.00 GMT

Rapid global warming caused the largest extinction event in the Earth’s history, which wiped out the vast majority of marine and terrestrial animals on the planet, scientists have found.

The mass extinction, known as the “great dying”, occurred around 252m years ago and marked the end of the Permian geologic period. The study of sediments and fossilized creatures show the event was the single greatest calamity ever to befall life on Earth, eclipsing even the extinction of the dinosaurs 65m years ago.

Up to 96% of all marine species perished while more than two-thirds of terrestrial species disappeared. The cataclysm was so severe it wiped out most of the planet’s trees, insects, plants, lizards and even microbes.

Scientists have theorized causes for the extinction, such as a giant asteroid impact. But US researchers now say they have pinpointed the demise of marine life to a spike in Earth’s temperatures, warning that present-day global warming will also have severe ramifications for life on the planet.

“It was a huge event. In the last half a billion years of life on the planet, it was the worst extinction,” said Curtis Deutsch, an oceanography expert who co-authored the research, published on Thursday, with his University of Washington colleague Justin Penn along with Stanford University scientists Jonathan Payne and Erik Sperling.

The researchers used paleoceanographic records and built a model to analyse changes in animal metabolism, ocean and climate conditions. When they used the model to mimic conditions at the end of the Permian period, they found it matched the extinction records.

According to the study, this suggests that marine animals essentially suffocated as warming waters lacked the oxygen required for survival. “For the first time, we’ve got a whole lot of confidence that this is what happened,” said Deutsch. “It’s a very strong argument that rising temperatures and oxygen depletion were to blame.”

The great dying event, which occurred over an uncertain timeframe of possibly hundreds of years, saw Earth’s temperatures increase by around 10C (18F). Oceans lost around 80% of their oxygen, with parts of the seafloor becoming completely oxygen-free. Scientists believe this warming was caused by a huge spike in greenhouse gas emissions, potentially caused by volcanic activity.

The new research, published in Science, found that the drop in oxygen levels was particularly deadly for marine animals living closer to the poles. Experiments that varied oxygen and temperature levels for modern marine species, including shellfish, corals and sharks, helped “bridge the gap” to what the model found, Payne said.

“This really would be a terrible, terrible time to be around on the planet,” he added. “It shows us that when the climate and ocean chemistry changes quickly, you can reach a point where species don’t survive. It took millions of years to recover from the Permian event, which is essentially permanent from the perspective of human timescales.”

Over the past century, the modern world has warmed by around 1C due to the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, rather than from volcanic eruptions.
This warming is already causing punishing heatwaves, flooding and wildfires around the world, with scientists warning that the temperature rise could reach 3C or more by the end of the century unless there are immediate, radical reductions in emissions.

At the same time, Earth’s species are undergoing what some experts have termed the “sixth great extinction” due to habitat loss, poaching, pollution and climate change.

“It does terrify me to think we are on a trajectory similar to the Permian because we really don’t want to be on that trajectory,” Payne said. “It doesn’t look like we will warm by around 10C and we haven’t lost that amount of biodiversity yet. But even getting halfway there would be something to be very concerned about. The magnitude of change we are currently experiencing is fairly large.”

Deutsch said: “We are about a 10th of the way to the Permian. Once you get to 3-4C of warming, that’s a significant fraction and life in the ocean is in big trouble, to put it bluntly. There are big implications for humans’ domination of the Earth and its ecosystems.”

Deutsch added that the only way to avoid a mass aquatic die-off in the oceans was to reduce carbon emissions, given there is no viable way to ameliorate the impact of climate change in the oceans using other measures.

The research group “provide convincing evidence that warmer temperatures and associated lower oxygen levels in the ocean are sufficient to explain the observed extinctions we see in the fossil record”, said Pamela Grothe, a paleoclimate scientist at the University of Mary Washington.

 

“The past holds the key to the future,” she added. “Our current rates of carbon dioxide emissions is instantaneous geologically speaking and we are already seeing warming ocean temperatures and lower oxygen in many regions, currently affecting marine ecosystems.

“If we continue in the trajectory we are on with current emission rates, this study highlights the potential that we may see similar rates of extinction in marine species as in the end of the Permian.”

Telehealth could close healthcare access gaps in Southeast Asia

Telehealth could also mean the end of uncomfortable wait times at public hospitals. Source: Shutterstock

By James Sivalingam | 6th December 2018

WHILE Southeast Asia’s economy has grown in leaps and bounds in the last decade or so, access to healthcare remains a challenge in some parts of the region.

Enabled by the latest technology and increased connectivity, one viable solution to the problem could be telehealth.

Malaysia-based DoctorOnCall, an up and coming telehealth vendor in the region, provides on-demand medical consultation service via web chat, video or phone calls spoke exclusively to Tech Wire Asia to highlight the market opportunity in the region.

“When we first started three years ago, a lot of people were very reserved. They were unsure if it would work or if the doctors would get on board the platform.

“But in the last two years, due to increased digital connectivity via smartphones and increased participation of the insurance providers, the platform is really taking off, ” said DoctorOnCall Co-Founder and Director Maran Virumandi.

SEE ALSO: Asia has a mental health problem that needs fixing

DoctorOnCall has also recruited more doctors on their platform – over 70 physicians and counting – which inspired more patients to use the platform.

Telehealth platforms are already prevalent in the US and Japan. More recently, China – due to shortages of doctors – is emerging as a major marketplace for telehealth platforms.

A patient directly connects with a doctor on the DoctorOnCall platform. Source: DoctorOnCall.

Ironing out the UI/UX kinks

But among the major challenges providers face is the User Interface/ User experience. Maran admits there are limitations to what the platform can do.

DoctorOnCall has, however, continually responded to market signals in efforts to innovate and improve the patient experience. The platform initially started with video-chat capabilities and realised that some patients still preferred regular voice calls and text messages.

That led the company to open up all three channels of communications.

Beyond that, the platform also now allows for sending photo and document attachments for better communication with the physicians.

As more insurance companies are recognising telehealth platforms as a critical component of the healthcare ecosystem, claims processing will also be integrated within the platform, said Maran.

DoctorOnCall now has three channels of communication: videos, chats & messaging. Source: DoctorOnCall.

SEE ALSO: Singapore’s elderly suicides peak as population ages

Strategic partnerships – exciting future

Recently, DoctorOnCall announced a collaboration with Tune Protect. The partnership allows for free medical consultations for all Tune Protect policyholders.

Maran claims the partnership with Tune Protect will open up greater market access to the platform and will help the digital service gain even more traction in the market.

“There are other companies that are seeking a tie-up with us, to be able to provide our services as employee benefits,” Maran said, adding that the services can be extended to the families as well.

The platform has already partnered with e-wallet vendor Boost, and is currently in talks with a few other e-payment platforms and insurance companies, signaling exciting times ahead for the brand.

DoctorOnCall attracts over half a million visitors to its website where patients can find resources and other materials in regards to health care, as well as links and referrals to seek professional opinions.

From the looks of it, the market in Malaysia is ripe for the picking for DoctorOnCall, and the next natural step is to expand into regional neighbors – Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam – where the population is massively underserved, healthcare wise.

This article was first published on our sister website Tech Wire Asia.

Faster diagnosis from 'transformational' gene project

Hana's daughter was diagnosed with a treatable metabolic disorder caused by an inherited genetic error

Fergus Walsh-Medical correspondent @BBCFergusWalsh

Scientists in Cambridge have completed the world's largest gene sequencing project in healthcare - which brings hope of better understanding of diseases and faster diagnosis. 

People with rare diseases, their family members and cancer patients took part.

Genomics England described the project as "transformational in what it means to society and humanity".

One in four participants with rare diseases received a diagnosis for the first time.

Until now, parents of children with rare genetic conditions typically spent years trying to find out the cause.

The 100,000 Genomes Project has ended this "diagnostic odyssey" for many families, and in some cases, led to effective treatments.

'Difference is amazing'

Hana Young's daughter Tilly, aged six, who has a disorder which causes delayed development and seizures, had her genome sequenced, along with both her parents. 

In January 2018 she was diagnosed with GAMT deficiency, a treatable metabolic disorder, which is caused by an inherited genetic error. 

Hana, from Gosport in Hampshire, told the BBC: "She used to be in and out of hospital and was often very aggressive towards her younger brother Arlo and others.

"She lost the ability to walk and was having hundreds of seizures a day."

Since Tilly has been on treatment, Hana says the "difference is amazing".

Cancer and rare diseases are both strongly linked to changes in DNA

"She is communicating, full of life, her epilepsy is gone and she is no longer violent," her mum says. 

"Tilly is still severely mentally disabled but she is so much better than she would have been without the diagnosis."

Had Tilly's illness been identified earlier, some long-term damage could have been prevented.

• NHS future: Why genome mapping could be good news
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• 100,000 Genomes project 'making huge difference'

In all, about 85,000 people had their entire genetic code, or genome, sequenced, but because cancer patients also had their tumour DNA mapped, the number of genomes totalled 100,000.

The human genome is made up of billions of pieces of DNA, found in nearly every cell in the body. It is the instruction manual for life and errors can trigger a vast range of disorders.

Cancer gene link

Cancer and rare diseases were chosen for the project because both are strongly linked to changes in DNA. 

Cancer is triggered by mutations in genes, while the majority of rare diseases are also caused by errors in our genome.

Karen Carter, 46, is among 15,000 cancer patients who had the DNA of their cancer tumour sequenced, as well as the genome they inherited from their parents.

She has had breast cancer and melanoma, but scans suggest she is clear of the disease.

There are plans to sequence one million genomes in the UK in the next five years

Karen, a pharmacist from Reading, told the BBC:  "My brother and grandmother and two cousins were all diagnosed with cancers at an early age and I would like to find out if there is something in our family that causes us to get cancer - and that knowledge might help us to mitigate the risks for others."

About half of cancer patients sequenced as part of the project were then able to take part in a clinical trial or receive a targeted treatment.

All the genome sequencing has been carried out at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, near Cambridge, in laboratories run by Illumina, a Californian biotechnology company.

The work has been overseen by Genomics England, which was set up in 2013 specifically to deliver the 100,000 Genomes Project.

Although the sequencing has been completed, the analysis of the genomes - by researchers across the UK - is continuing and some participants are still awaiting results.

There are now ambitious plans to sequence one million genomes in the UK in the next five years, as genetic testing becomes more embedded in NHS care.

'Extraordinary achievement'

Prof Mark Caulfield, chief scientist at Genomics England said: "The sequencing of 100,000 whole genomes marks an extraordinary UK achievement that is transforming the application of genomics in our NHS."

The hope is that it will lead to more rapid diagnosis, improved prevention of illness and more targeted medicines.

Sir John Chisholm, chair of Genomics England, said: "Your health record will eventually have a genomic backbone to it; that will enable what is happening to you to be compared with what your genome is telling your doctor, and therefore a more accurate diagnosis or treatment will be available."

When the first human genome was fully sequenced in 2003, it had taken 13 years and cost £2bn.

Today, a genome's worth of DNA can be sequenced in only 30 minutes, at a cost of £600.

The success of the 100,000 Genomes Project underlines the UK's position as a world leader in this field.

Prof Dame Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer for England said: "The results show how genomic medicine can transform lives, and the opportunity now is to turn this research into reality by introducing sequencing technology as part of our world-leading NHS Genomic Medicine Service."Follow Fergus on Twitter.