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Interim Guidance on Scaling-up COVID-19 Outbreak in Readiness and Response Operations in Camps and Camp-like Settings (jointly developed by IFRC, IOM, UNHCR and WHO)

This interim guidance addresses specific needs and considerations required in humanitarian situations, including camps and camp-like settings and the surrounding host communities, in scaling-up readiness and response operations for the COVID-19 outbreak through effective multi-sectoral partnership. This is intended for field coordinators, camp managers, and public health personnel, as well as national and local governments and the wider humanitarian community working in humanitarian…

Migration Health Research Bulletin, Issue No. 17

In this issue of the Bulletin, peer-reviewed articles, technical guides, reference books and book chapters which IOM teams have engaged in, ranging from: COVID-19 outbreak preparedness and response in refugee camps, gender-based violence in emergency settings, health system strengthening at borders, and health assessments among forced migrants were profiled. Studies on the elimination of TB and female genital mutilation among migrants and the Ebola outbreak response were also featured. This…

Neglect of low-income migrants in COVID-19 response

South Asia, home to around a quarter of the world’s population and 40% of the world’s poor, is being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The global response to the pandemic has focused mainly on containment of the contagion and “flattening the curve” through testing and strict social distancing, but these universal approaches fail to take account of resource limitations in countries in South Asia and ignore the realities of vulnerable populations, such as low-income migrants, internally…

National preparedness and response plans for COVID-19 and other diseases: Why migrants should be included

Slogans such as “this viral pandemic respects no borders” or “this is an equal opportunity virus” are often echoed across media platforms and by officials. However, the true impact of pandemics like COVID-19 is rarely homogenous. The spread of the disease and its outcomes affect different persons in different circumstances and at different times in various ways. The interplay between the pathogen, host, and the environment shapes transmission dynamics. This granularity is key to…

Missing: Where Are the Migrants in Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plans?

An overview of tuberculosis and migration

This article is the first in the State-of-the-Art series of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease on TB and migration. It provides an overview of migration trends, migration pathways and social determinants, and impact on TB. This article outlines a framework for the prevention and reduction of the TB burden among migrants, adapted from the World Health Organization's End TB Strategy, and in accordance with the Stop TB Partnership's Global…

Migration Health – Annual Review 2015

This report illustrates IOM’s health activities in 2015 and presents key achievements in the three main migration health programme areas: (a) migration health assessments and travel health assistance; (b) health promotion and assistance for migrants; and (c) migration health assistance for crisis-affected populations. The report also highlights emerging themes in migration and health – work on advancing the unfinished agenda of migrant health for the benefit of all; and…

Migration Health – Annual Review 2014

Migration Health – Annual Review 2013

Can migration health assessments become a mechanism for global public health good?

Abstract: Migrant health assessments (HAs) consist of a medical examination to assess a migrant’s health status and to provide medical clearance for work or residency based on conditions defined by the destination country and/or employer. We argue that better linkages between health systems and migrant HA processors at the country level are needed to shift these from being limited as an instrument of determining non-admissibility for purposes of visa issuance, to a process…