Malaria Control and Elimination in the Context of Migration and Human Mobility: Background Paper

Mobile populations, migrants and their families particularly the undocumented - often considered as the ‘hidden or hard to reach’ individuals - face complex obstacles in accessing essential health care and malaria control services. Migrants move with their epidemiological health profiles – influenced by genetic, biological, societal factors - between geographical areas of various burden and typologies of infectious diseases like malaria. In many countries, they usually fall outside any national, regional or global strategies, plans of action and sectoral policies largely due to an interplay of elements such as poverty, gender, language, age, immigration status, health-seeking behaviour, lack of migrant-sensitive policies and health systems, and anti-migrant sentiments. Even in Thailand, where a Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS) has been incorporated to address the migrant health needs, many irregular migrants are challenged in navigating the complex process of registering, obtaining a work permit and purchasing an insurance package. The spread of communicable diseases knows no borders particularly in settings where there are significant disparities in health care infrastructure and access to health services between neighbouring countries or between countries of origin and destination. When moving from one location to the next, migrants may introduce communicable health conditions for example malaria, or acquire conditions when residing in host communities, and introduce these acquired conditions when returning home.