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…

Migrants in the Middle East and North Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic
Author/s: Kolitha Wickramage, Chiaki Ito, Mahmoud Hilali, Sally Hargreaves, Ana Requena-Méndez, on behalf of the Migrant Health MENA working group
As COVID-19 vaccine roll-out begins in the MENA region, ensuring migrant populations have equitable access to the vaccine, designing innovative and specific mechanisms for vaccine roll-out in these areas, and monitoring vaccine uptake in migrant groups are now imminent challenges.

A rapid review of immunisation coverage, vaccine delivery and migration in North Africa amongst migrant populations (PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021256369)
Author/s: Anna Deal, Sara Arias, Sally Hargreaves, Ana Requena, Mahmoud Hilali, Wafa Chemao, Bouchra Assarag, Ouahchi Hamdouni Anissa, Habib Ghédira, Kolitha Wickramage, Kaisa Kontunen, Janice Lopez, Chiaki Ito, Jannet Bahri, Dominik Zenner
In this systematic review we are trying to answer these specific questions: What is the immunisation coverage among migrant populations in North Africa for key vaccines, and are there variations among migrant subpopulations? Where and by who are vaccines administered to migrant populations? What are the key delivery mechanisms (IOM, NGOs, government structures)? What are the barriers and facilitators to migrant populations accessing vaccines in this region? What is the quality and quantity…
Read more
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.

Migration and health. In: Adepoju A., Fumagalli C., Nyabola N. (eds) Africa Migration Report: Challenging the narrative
Author/s: Sunday Smith, Benjamin Djoudalbaye, Adam Ahmat | contribution from Jaqueline Weekers, Kolitha Wickramage
The relationship between migration and health is explored, including resilience, vulnerability, and social determinants of health throughout the migration cycle. The chapter maintains that migration health governance should include the control of communicable diseases, health security, universal health coverage (UHC), and migration-responsive systems, which are all critical to health security, public health, and development. Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), African Union’s…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
Assessing the Health of Persons Experiencing Forced Migration: Current Practices for Health Service Organisations. In: Bozorgmehr K., Roberts B., Razum O., Biddle L. (eds) Health Policy and Systems Responses to Forced Migration
Author/s: Dominik Zenner, Kolitha Wickramage, Ursula Trummer, Kevin Pottie, Chuck Hui
This chapter looks at the current evidence and practice of health assessments amongst persons, who experienced forced migration, including asylum seekers and refugees. It places health assessments into its historical context and outlines national and international frameworks relevant to these. The main body of the chapter reviews the current practice in health assessments alongside the policy framework and evidence and provides specific examples from countries. Doing so, it also outlines…
Read more
Migration health research and policy in south and south-east Asia: mapping the gaps and advancing a collaborative agenda
Author/s: Anuj Kapilashrami, Kolitha Wickramage, Nima Asgari-Jirhandeh, Anns Issac, Anjali Borharde, Ganesh Gurung, Jeevan R Sharma
Migrant health has been the subject of various international agreements in recent years. In parallel, there has been a growth in academic research in this area. However, this increase in focus at the international level has not necessarily strengthened the capacity to drive evidence-informed national policy and action in many low- and middle-income countries. The Migration Health South Asia (MiHSA) network aims to challenge some of the barriers to progress in the region. Examples include the…
Read more
Neglect of low-income migrants in COVID-19 response
Author/s: Anuj Kapilashrami, Anns Issac, Jeevan Sharma, Kolitha Wickramage, Ekatha Ann John, Divya Ravindranath, Roomi Aziz, Patrick Duigan
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…
Read more