The Bulletin features recent publications stemming from IOM’s health-related programming globally – for instance, the migration health assessment programme and the mental health and psychosocial support program (MHPSS). Further, this issue showcases a number of publications and forums pertaining to COVID-19 at the nexus of research, health policy, and public health practice.
This overview showcases only some of the key activities implemented in 2019 across the world, in lower-income settings and in complex emergencies, along the world’s most perilous migration routes, in the aftermath of natural disasters, or in response to disease outbreaks.
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.
Migration is a social determinant of health. Throughout the migration process, migrants are exposed to a unique set of sociocultural, economic and environmental factors that may increase their risk of exposure to negative health outcomes, including communicable and non-communicable diseases. Migrants and mobile populations can face many obstacles in accessing essential health care services due to several factors including irregular immigration status, language barriers, discrimination, a lack of migrant-inclusive health policies and lack of affordable health services.
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) features health as a cross-cutting priority with references to health and healthcare access in several objectives.
In this chapter, Global Health Security and Universal Health Coverage are analyzed underlining the possible synergies and differences between them and the links to health, even as the two take very different routes and approaches.
This chapter provides an overview of health data among migrants on the Central Mediterranean Route, using a case-based approach. It outlines how data are currently collected and what are the strengths and weaknesses of these health information systems. Examples from Libya, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and a transnational electronic health record system show the variety of systems in place. Current health information systems that capture migrant health are very heterogenous, often not harmonized and sometimes time-limited. As a result, information on migrant health is limited.
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.
The Global Fund provides financial support for life-saving interventions to countries bearing the highest disease burden and lowest economic capacity, where the key and vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. The Global Fund does not implement directly but instead funds programmes implemented by countries, regional organizations, and partners in over 100 countries with high-level burdens of HIV, TB, and Malaria.
Migration is a social determinant of health. Throughout the migration process, migrants are exposed to a unique set of sociocultural, economic and environmental factors that may increase their risk of exposure to negative health outcomes, including communicable and non-communicable diseases. Migrants and mobile populations can face many obstacles in accessing essential health care services due to several factors including irregular immigration status, language barriers, discrimination, a lack of migrant-inclusive health policies and lack of affordable health services.
