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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 displaced people (IDP) and refugees.

This handbook follows a comprehensive approach to health system strengthening at borders in order to support International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) national focal points and other national agencies in developing and implementing evidence-based action plans for IHR capacity development at ground crossings.

Viet Nam’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has realized the importance of migrant health and is committed to implementing Resolution 70.15 “Promoting the health of refugees and migrants” endorsed by WHA in May 2017. However, this determination to better safeguard migrants is impeded by a dearth of data on Vietnamese internal and cross-border migrants’ health and access to health-care, with limited information on stakeholders’ roles in responding to migration-related health challenges domestically and in destination countries.

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.

Key messages