Over 281 million people around the world are counted as international migrants. Many migrants are forcibly displaced – with 36.4 million refugees and 6.1 million asylum-seekers by mid-2023. Furthermore, there were 62.5 million internally displaced people at the end of 2022. While many of these migrants are healthy, many, in particular refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people, are at risk of poor health outcomes and often experience health-related inequities, facing little or no access to health care.
Addressing this risk through inclusive health systems is vital to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and is in line with existing rights conventions. Inclusive health systems can also have positive effects on integration. Moreover, while expanding health-care access is fundamental, policy-makers must simultaneously address the wider social determinants of migrants’ health. However, policy opportunities are constrained by a lack of timely and quality data. Generating and using more reliable data is necessary to advance migration health and achieve better public health outcomes for all.