This report provides an overview of activities led and implemented by the Migration Health Division of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2023, in close collaboration with Member States, other United Nations agencies and partners. These interventions served to deliver and promote comprehensive, preventive and curative health programmes that are beneficial, accessible, rights-based and equitable for migrants, mobile populations and host communities.

Background

The evidence on the use of Antigen-Rapid Diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) in settings with displaced populations (refugees and migrants) is limited. In Lebanon, a project for introducing Ag-RDTs among refugees and migrants was implemented between August and November 2022.  We describe the uptake and performance of Ag-RDTs in these settings.

Material and Methods

Abstract

With a goal of establishing enduring leadership and commitment for the health of refugees and migrants, WHO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Morocco co-organized the Third Global Consultation on the Health of Refugees and Migrants in Rabat, Morocco, on 13–15 June 2023, and led to the adoption of the Rabat Declaration. 

With a goal of establishing enduring leadership and commitment for the health of refugees and migrants, WHO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Morocco co-organized the Third Global Consultation on the Health of Refugees and Migrants in Rabat, Morocco, on 13–15 June 2023, and led to the adoption of the Rabat Declaration. 

This issue of the Bulletin features publications focusing on migration data, migration health research priorities, and infectious diseases including tuberculosis and COVID-19.

The audio podcast episode centers on the key findings from an IOM study, conducted in collaboration with FIND and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of three commercially available computer-aided detection systems for detecting tuberculosis.

IOM, as the UN Migration Agency, has an imperative to act on the triple nexus of health, climate change, and mobility: Its Institutional Strategy on Migration, Environment and Climate Change 2021–2030 outlines a comprehensive, evidence and rights-based approach to migration in the context of environmental degradation, climate change and disasters, for the benefit of migrants and societies.

The issue of the Bulletin features publications on migration, zoonoses, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, mental health, among others.

The audio podcast episode discusses the importance of the inclusion of migrants into policies and actions towards zoonotic disease prevention and control as well as outlines guidance on the integration of migration into health interventions.

Coverage of migrant and refugee data is incomplete and of insufficient quality in European health information systems. This is not because we lack the knowledge or technology. Rather, it is due to various political factors at local, national and European levels, which hinder the implementation of existing knowledge and guidelines. This reflects the low political priority given to the topic, and also complex governance challenges associated with migration and displacement.

This is the fifth report of the Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series. The publication focuses on the mental health needs of refugees and migrants by providing an overview of the available evidence on patterns of risk and protective factors and of facilitators and barriers to care at all levels (individual, family, community and national government).