Publications Search
This publications portal is a repository of all IOM migration health publications from 2006 to present where IOM was a primary contributor.
Publications include peer-reviewed scientific papers, technical reports, training guides/manuals, policy briefs/discussion papers, factsheets, newsletters, research reviews, conference and poster presentations. These are categorized by topic, author, country/region covered as well as by year, language, and type of publication. The map reflects the countries covered by the publications.
To browse or search: simply use the filter options on the left-hand side. Alternatively, you can enter keyword/s in the search box. Selecting a specific publication will lead to a ‘download’ link or link to the website where the document is housed. Here is the step-by-step guide for your reference.

Adopting an ethical approach to migration health policy, practice and research
Author/s: Kristine Husøy Onarheim, Kolitha Wickramage, David Ingleby, Supriya Subramani, Ingrid Miljeteig
Abstract
Migration health is affected by decision-making at levels ranging from global to local, both within and beyond the health sector. These decisions impact seeking, entitlements, service delivery, policy-making, and knowledge production on migration health. It is key that ethical challenges faced by decision-makers are recognized and addressed in research and data, clinical practice, and policy making on migration health. An ethical approach can provide methods to…

Migrant health is public health: a call for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines
Author/s: Amani Al-Oraibi, Christopher A Martin, Osama Hassan, Kolitha Wickramage, Laura B Nellums, Manish Pareek
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) there are about 1 billion international and internal migrants worldwide, and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that 80 million migrants are forcibly displaced. Inclusion of these populations in COVID-19 vaccination plans is essential.

COVID-19: Exposing and addressing health disparities among ethnic minorities and migrants
Author/s: Christina Greenaway, Sally Hargreaves, Sapha Barkati, Christina M. Coyle, Federico Gobbi, Apostolos Veizis, Paul Douglas
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on health disparities and has created an opportunity to address the causes underlying these inequities. Every country has vulnerable populations that require special attention from policymakers in their response to the current pandemic. Inclusive policies that ensure equal access to care for everybody including COVID-19 testing, new therapeutics, and a vaccine (when available) will be critical to protecting the whole population. Migrants living in…
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Targeting COVID-19 interventions towards migrants in humanitarian settings
Author/s: Sally Hargreaves, Dominik Zenner, Kolitha Wickramage, Anna Deal, Sally E Hayward
Millions of refugees and migrants reside in countries devastated by protracted conflicts with weakened health systems, and in countries where they are forced to live in substandard conditions in camps and compounds, and high-density slum settings. Although many such settings have yet to feel the full impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the pandemic is now having an unprecedented impact on mobility, in terms of border and migration management, as well as on the health, social, and…
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Migrant and Refugee Health: Complex health associations among diverse contexts call for tailored and rights-based solutions
Author/s: Paul Spiegel, Kolitha Wickramage, Terry McGovern
Migration is a natural state of humankind and has been documented throughout history. Some people may flee violence and persecution, while others simply seek a better life. Although migration is often classified into these two basic categories, the reality is more complex and nuanced: people migrate for a myriad of interconnected cultural, economic, religious, ethnic, and political reasons. Depending upon the epoch, migration has been seen in a positive or negative light. Currently, the…
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Healthcare is not universal if undocumented migrants are excluded
Author/s: Helena Legido-Quigley, Nicola Pocock, Sok Teng Tan, Leire Pajin, Repeepong Suphanchaimat, Kol Wickramage, Martin McKee, Kevin Pottie
Key messages
- Millions of men, women, and children who have migrated internationally pay taxes and contribute to local economies but fail to receive the security of universal health coverage
- The right to health, which underpins the commitment to universal health coverage in the sustainable development goals, includes migrant populations
- Some countries are designing inclusive policies to ensure that undocumented migrants have access to health services, while other…

Improving the health of migrants
Author/s: Kolitha Wickramage, Paul J Simpson, Kamran Abbasi
The editorial piece tackles how anti-migrant rhetoric among politicians and media as well as the lack of or weak policy frameworks focusing on the healthcare access and coverage of labour migrants, internally displaced populations, and internal migrants contribute to the gaps in addressing the health needs of migrants and migrant populations. It notes that addressing these gaps remain to be a challenge among policymakers, practitioners, civil society, and researchers to ensure that migration…
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Building alliances for the global governance of migration and health
Author/s: Jo Vearey, Miriam Orcutt, Larry Gostin, Christy Adeola Braham, Patrick Duigan
Key messages
- Universal health coverage will not be attained if migration is not integrated into existing health responses and if health is not integrated into existing migration responses
- The governance of migration and health is an issue of state sovereignty that questions the role of global migration and health governance initiatives
- Building alliances across sectors can support effective migration aware governance responses to migration and health
- A…

Enhancing the health and safety of migrant workers
Author/s: Yuka Ujita, Paul J. Douglas, and Masatoki Adachi
Migrant workers can be at high risk of exposure to workplace hazards and face additional work-related risk factors and unfavorable social determinants of health including employment and wage discrimination, poor working and living conditions, lack of access to social protection and language and culture barriers. These work-related risks can result in a higher incidence of occupational injuries and work-related diseases among migrant workers, compared with non-migrant workers. However, due to…
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Children and adolescents on the move: what does the Global Compact for Migration mean for their health?
Author/s: Delan Devakumar, Neal Russell, Lisa Murphy, Kolitha Wickramage, Susan Sawyer, Ibrahim Abubakar