Kolitha Wickramage
Dr Kolitha Wickramage
Global Health Research and Epidemiology Coordinator, Migration Health DivisionInstitution:
Current Institution Location: Germany
Email: kwickramage@iom.int
Address:
Global Data Institute (GDI), Berlin, Germany
Migration Health Research Area/Expertise
Dr. Kol Wickramage is the UN Migration Agencies’ Global Health Research and Epidemiology Coordinator responsible for providing technical guidance on research and evidence generation across IOM’s three health programmatic areas: medical examinations for migrants and refugees; technical cooperation on migration health with member states; and health action in humanitarian and post-crisis contexts. He worked with WHO from 2004 in health action in crisis projects, from protracted civil conflict to natural disaster settings, and since joining IOM in 2009, has worked on a broad spectrum of migration health projects predominantly in low-income countries - ranging from the West-African Ebola outbreak response, multi-country research on health impacts of low-skilled migrant workers and their families in Asia, to supporting member states formulate health policies, interventions and research at the nexus of migration and health. He received Presidential honors in Sri Lanka for his research work and advancing a national migration health policy through an evidence-informed, inter-ministerial process. Dr. Wickramage co-founded a global migration health scholars' network in 2016 and is passionate about supporting research scholarship, especially within developing regions.
Research Focus/Expertise on Relevant Migrant Categories
Internal Migration
Internally displaced persons (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Left-behind migrant families (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Migrant Workers (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
International/Cross-Border Migration
Asylum seekers (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Human smuggling (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Human trafficking (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Humanitarian entrants/ Refugee resettlement programs (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
International migrant workers (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
Refugees (Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly)
General Research Focus/Expertise
Relevant Publications
| Title | Author | Year Published | Link to Publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Kol Wickramage - Google Scholar | View | ||
| Immunisation status of UK-bound refugees between January, 2018, and October, 2019: a retrospective, population-based cross-sectional study | Anna Deal, Sally E Hayward, Alison F Crawshaw, Lucy P Goldsmith, Charles Hui, Warren Dalal, Fatima Wurie, Mary-Ann Bautista, May Antonnette Lebanan, Sweetmavourneen Agan, Farah Amin Hassan, Kolitha Wickramage, Ines Campos-Matos, Sally Hargreaves | View | |
| International migration of unaccompanied minors: trends, health risks, and legal protection | Susanna Corona Maioli, Jacqueline Bhabha, Kolitha Wickramage, Laura C N Wood, Ludivine Erragne, Omar Ortega García, Rochelle Burgess, Vasileia Digidiki, Robert Aldridge, Delan Devakumar | View | |
| Migrants in the Middle East and North Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic | Kolitha Wickramage, Chiaki Ito, Mahmoud Hilali, Sally Hargreaves, Ana Requena-Méndez | View | |
| Is it Time to Phase Out UNDESA’s Regional Criterion of Development? | David Ingleby, Ann Singleton, Kolitha Wickramage | View | |
| Accessing health services in India: experiences of seasonal migrants returning to Nepal | Pratik Adhikary, Nirmal Aryal, Raja Ram Dhungana, Radheshyam Krishna KC, Pramod R. Regmi, Kolitha Prabhash Wickramage, Patrick Duigan, Montira Inkochasan, Guna Nidhi Sharma, Bikash Devkota, Edwin van Teijlingen, Padam Simkhada | View | |
| Healthcare is not universal if undocumented migrants are excluded | Helena Legido-Quigley, Nicola Pocock, Sok Teng Tan, Leire Pajin, Repeepong Suphanchaimat, Kol Wickramage, Martin McKee | View | |
| Are left-behind families of migrant workers at increased risk of attempted suicide?–a cohort study of 178,000+ individuals in Sri Lanka | Duleeka Knipe, Helen Lambert, Melissa Pearson, Michael Eddleston, Shaluka Jayamanne, Kolitha Wickramage, Keith Hawton, Flemming Konradsen, Chris Metcalfe and David Gunnell | View | |
| Children and adolescents on the move: what does the Global Compact for Migration mean for their health? | Delan Devakumar, Neal Russell, Lisa Murphy, Kolitha Wickramage, Susan M Sawyer, Ibrahim Abubakar | View | |
| Addressing female genital mutilation in the Asia Pacific: the neglected sustainable development target | Angela Dawson, Abdul Rashid, Rashidah Shuib, Kolitha Wickramage, Meiwita Budiharsana, Irwan Martua Hidayana, Gabriele Marranci | View | |
| Advancing health in migration governance, and migration in health governance | Kolitha Wickramage, Giuseppe Annunziata | View | |
| Infectious disease testing of UK-bound refugees: a population-based, cross-sectional study | AF Crawshaw, M Pareek, J Were, S Schillinger, O Gorbacheva, K Wickramage, S Mandal, V Delpech, N Gill, H Kirkbride, D Zenner | View | |
| Migration and health: a global public health research priority | K Wickramage, J Vearey, AB Zwi, C Robinson, M Knipper | View | |
| Bibliometric analysis of global migration health research in peer-reviewed literature (2000–2016) | WM Sweileh, K Wickramage, K Pottie, C Hui, B Roberts, AF Sawalha, SH Zyoud | View | |
| Health status of returning refugees, internally displaced persons, and the host community in a post-conflict district in northern Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional survey | R Burns, K Wickramage, A Musah, C Siriwardhana, F Checchi | View | |
| The need for an evidence-informed, multi-sectoral and community participatory action framework to address the practice of female genital mutilation in Sri Lanka | K Wickramage, L Senanayake, N Mapitigama, J Karunasinghe, E Teagal | View | |
| Missing: where are the migrants in pandemic influenza preparedness plans? | K Wickramage, LO Gostin, E Friedman, P Prakongsai, R Suphanchaimat, C Hui, P Duigan, E Barragan, DR Harper | View | |
| Health status of returning refugees, internally displaced persons, and the host community in a post-conflict district in Northern Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional survey | R Burns, K Wickramage, F Checchi | View | |
| Reflections on migrant and refugee health in Malaysia and the ASEAN region | NS Pocock, R Suphanchaimat, CK Chan, EM Faller, N Harrigan, V Pillai, K Wickramage | View | |
| Migration Health Research to advance evidence based policy and practice in Sri Lanka | Wickramage, K., Mosca, D. and Peiris, S. (Eds.) International Organization for Migration | View | |
| Leveraging the Domain of Work to Improve Migrant Health | MA Flynn, K Wickramage | View | |
| Migration and health in the Sustainable Development Goals | E Barragan, D Poonam, J Puebla Fortier, D Mosca, J Weekers, K Wickramage | View | |
| A global research agenda on migration, mobility, and health | J Hanefeld, J Vearey, N Lunt, S Bell, K Blanchet, D Duclos, L Ghilardi, D Horsfall, N Howard, JH Adams, M Kamndaya, C Lynch, T Makandwa, N McGrath, M Modesinyane, K O'Donnell, C Siriwardhana, R Smith, A Testa, K Vanyoro, H Walls, K Wickramage, C Zimmerman | View | |
| Building responsive health systems to help communities affected by migration: an international Delphi consensus | K Pottie, C Hui, P Rahman, D Ingleby, EA Akl, G Russell, L Ling, K Wickramage, D Mosca, CD Brindis | View | |
| Patterns of abuse amongst Sri Lankan women returning home after working as domestic maids in the Middle East: An exploratory study of medico-legal referrals | K Wickramage, M De Silva, S Peiris | View | |
| Is Sri Lanka prepared for yellow fever outbreaks? A case study | K Wickramage, SB Agampodi, D Mosca, S Peiris | View | |
| Mental health of migrants in low-skilled work and the families they leave behind | K Wickramage, C Siriwardhana | View | |
| What effect does international migration have on the nutritional status and child care practices of children left behind? | R Jayatissa, K Wickramage | View | |
| Mental distress and potentially modifiable social factors in post-conflict Sri Lanka | C Siriwardhana, K Wickramage | View | |
| Are non yellow fever endemic countries prepared for possible yellow fever outbreaks?: A case study on border health surveillance from Sri Lanka | K Wickramage | ||
| Health issues affecting female internal migrant workers: A systematic review | U Senarath, K Wickramage, S Peiris | View | |
| Common mental disorders among adult members of ‘left-behind’international migrant worker families in Sri Lanka | C Siriwardhana, K Wickramage, S Siribaddana, P Vidanapathirana, B Jayasekara, S Weerawarna, G Pannala, A Adikari, K Jayaweera, S Peiris, A Sumathipala | View | |
| Risk of mental health and nutritional problems for left-behind children of international labor migrants | K Wickramage, C Siriwardhana, P Vidanapathirana, S Weerawarna, B Jayasekara, G Pannala, A Adikari, K Jayaweera, S Peiris, S Siribaddana, A Sumathipala | View | |
| Knowledge and perceptions on responsive feeding among primary health care providers at field level in rural Anuradhapura | N Karunamuni, S Senevirathne, P Pallewaththa, R Rathnayake, K Wickramage, SB Agampodi, TC Agampodi | View | |
| Responsive feeding practices among caregivers in rural Anuradhapura; a missing component in infant feeding! | S Senevirathne, N Karunamuni, P Pallewaththa, R Rathnayake, K Wickramage, SB Agampodi, TC Agampodi | View | |
| Impact of economic labour migration: A qualitative exploration of left-behind family member perspectives in Sri Lanka | C Siriwardhana, K Wickramage, K Jayaweera, A Adikari, S Weerawarna, T Van Bortel, S Siribaddana, A Sumathipala | View | |
| Recovering from the Ebola Crisis: International Organization for Migration (IOM) Strategic Framework for Action 2015 – 2017 | K Wickramage | ||
| Promoting the health of left-behind children of Asian labour migrants: Evidence for policy and action | K Wickramage, C Siriwardhana, S Pieris | View | |
| Mapping the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in a country entering elimination | K Wickramage, S Peiris | ||
| Conflict, forced displacement and health in Sri Lanka: a review of the research landscape | C Siriwardhana, K Wickramage | View | |
| Globalization of leptospirosis through travel and migration | M Bandara, M Ananda, K Wickramage, E Berger, S Agampodi | View | |
| Prevalence of depression and its associated factors among patients attending primary care settings in the post-conflict Northern Province in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study | U Senarath, K Wickramage, SL Peiris | View | |
| Maternal mortality revisited: the application of the new ICD-MM classification system in reference to maternal deaths in Sri Lanka | S Agampodi, K Wickramage, T Agampodi, U Thennakoon, N Jayathilaka, D Karunarathna, S Alagiyawanna | View | |
| The challenge of establishing an evidence-based and migrant sensitive approach to tuberculosis screening of inbound migrants to Sri Lanka | S Samaraweera, K Wickramage | View | |
| Can migration health assessments become a mechanism for global public health good? | K Wickramage, D Mosca | View | |
| Analysis of the domestic legal framework in relation to the right to health for internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka | K Wickramage, W Senavirathne | View | |
| High attack rate for malaria through irregular migration routes to a country on verge of elimination | K Wickramage, RG Premaratne, SL Peiris, D Mosca | View | |
| Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis in a foreign resident visa holder and implications of a growing inbound migrant flow to Sri Lanka | K Wickramage, S Samaraweera, S Peiris, J Elvitigala, D Patabendige | View | |
| Malaria burden in irregular migrants returning to Sri Lanka from human smuggling operations in West Africa and implications for a country reaching malaria elimination | K Wickramage, GNL Galappaththy | View | |
| Health Work for Shared Societies | K Wickramage | View | |
| Is there a risk of yellow fever virus transmission in South Asian countries with hyperendemic dengue? | SB Agampodi, K Wickramage | View | |
| Irregular migration as a potential source of malaria reintroduction in Sri Lanka and use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests at point-of-entry screening | K Wickramage, GNL Galappaththy, D Dayarathne, SL Peiris, RN Basnayake, D Mosca, J Jacobs | View | |
| “Don’t forget the migrants”: exploring preparedness and response strategies to combat the potential spread of MERS-CoV virus through migrant workers in Sri Lanka | K Wickramage, S Peiris, SB Agampodi | View | |
| Textbox 3: Strengthening Migration Health Management in Sri Lanka | IOM GenevaIOM Sri Lanka | View | |
| (A194)“Displaced Voices”: Are those Displaced by War Satisfied with the Provision and Quality of Health Care they Received? | K Wickramage, R Surentrikumaran | View | |
| (P1-109) Violence, Health and Human Rights: Analysis of the Right to Health for Conflict Displaced Persons Living In IDP Camps in Northern Sri Lanka | K Wickramage, A Zwi | View | |
| (A170) Health Sector Coordination Following Civil Conflict in Sri Lanka, 2009 | K Wickramage, T Ranasinghe, EK Vithana, H Herath | View | |
| (A257) Enhancing Human Resources for Health in Crisis: Experience from the War-Affected Districts of Sri Lanka | K Wickramage, T Ranasinghe, A Zwi | View | |
| Mental health in Sri Lanka: Evaluation of the impact of the Community Support Offiers (CSO) in mental health service provision at District Level | K Wickramage, J Mahoney, J De Silva, P Mendis, M Ganesan, V Chandra | ||
| Community participatory methods in disease surveillance and public health in war-affected camps, and its potential contribution to peace building | K Wickramage, P Nellapalli | ||
| Hands in relief, eyes on development: Challenges and community responses in the delivery of humanitarian aid in conflict affected and tsunami ravaged districts in Northern Sri Lanka | K Wickramage | View | |
| Building the capacity for health promotion in resource poor, tsunami devastated and conflict ravaged zones | K Wickramage | View | |
| Sri Lanka's post-tsunami psychosocial playground: lessons for future psychosocial programming and interventions following disasters | K Wickramage | View |
Relevant Projects
| Title | Year Published | Region/Country | Role in the Project | Main Outcome | Link to Study Reports and publications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact of Migration on Left Behind Children and Families in Cambodia | Asia and the Pacific Cambodia |
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| Co-chair of National Migration Health Research agenda for internal, inbound, outbound migrants and families left behind | Asia and the Pacific Sri Lanka |
A major commission that produced over 20 technical reports and publications led by an interdisciplinary approach and contributed to formulating the National Migration Health Policy and Action plan of Sri Lanka. |