Global evidence on refugees and migrants is often limited to migration flow and some demographic characteristics. The investment on research and evidence on socio-economic aspects and health of this population group has been substantially growing, but the focus is often at a sub-national and national level, less frequently at a regional and global level.
This has led to the unavailability of systematically collected data on the health of refugees and migrants that are comparable across countries and over time. Existing systematic studies and comprehensive bibliometric analysis showed that even when there is some evidence, it is predominantly from high-income countries and focused on certain disease categories. There is, therefore, an urgent need for systematic, comparable, and representative qualitative and quantitative data, and evidence on various health issues of refugees and migrants. Such a gap provides enormous challenges to understand the health needs of refugees and migrants and the heterogeneity present in this population group.
Filling this gap is required for evidence-informed policy making and targeted interventions that are impactful to make a difference in the lives of refugees and migrants. This will ensure the basic human right to health and include refugees and migrants in public activities.
To consolidate data on an integrated approach to migration and public health policies, the WHO Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series was launched in 2021. This was part of the organization’s Health and Migration Programme to inform policy-makers on the public health priorities of migrants and refugees. The series aims to bridge data gaps on the health status of these populations by responding to policy questions and considerations, as well as summarizing the best available evidence across the world.
The GEHM series touches on several important points for consideration, such as:
• Trends of public health and migration policies and practices during COVID-19 pandemic;
• Continuum of care for non-communicable disease management for migrants and refugees;
• Refugees and migrants access to mental health services;
• Health care in detention;
• Access to essential medication and antibiotics.
The Topic Editors welcome Original Research, Review Articles, Short reports, Case Studies, that explores these 5 themes raised by the GEHM series. This Research Topic aims to explore the findings of the GEHM series and beyond, suggested articles are as follow:
• Lessons learned at a country level on the inclusion/exclusion of migrants and refugees from public health policies and practices in place during COVID-19 pandemic;
• Assessing risks factors, prevalence and access to services for non-communicable disease in migrants in irregular situations;
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health conditions in migrants and refugees population;
• Health impact of migration detention on migrants and asylum seekers;
• How do antibiotic access and overuse challenges in migrant and refugee population threaten efforts towards Universal Health Coverage and undermine progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in your region?
The Topic Editors encourage submissions of manuscripts addressing any of these key areas that will be addressed in the WHO GEHM. Manuscripts offering policy or other intervention evaluations will be of substantial interest for this Research Topic.
Global evidence on refugees and migrants is often limited to migration flow and some demographic characteristics. The investment on research and evidence on socio-economic aspects and health of this population group has been substantially growing, but the focus is often at a sub-national and national level, less frequently at a regional and global level.
This has led to the unavailability of systematically collected data on the health of refugees and migrants that are comparable across countries and over time. Existing systematic studies and comprehensive bibliometric analysis showed that even when there is some evidence, it is predominantly from high-income countries and focused on certain disease categories. There is, therefore, an urgent need for systematic, comparable, and representative qualitative and quantitative data, and evidence on various health issues of refugees and migrants. Such a gap provides enormous challenges to understand the health needs of refugees and migrants and the heterogeneity present in this population group.
Filling this gap is required for evidence-informed policy making and targeted interventions that are impactful to make a difference in the lives of refugees and migrants. This will ensure the basic human right to health and include refugees and migrants in public activities.
To consolidate data on an integrated approach to migration and public health policies, the WHO Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series was launched in 2021. This was part of the organization’s Health and Migration Programme to inform policy-makers on the public health priorities of migrants and refugees. The series aims to bridge data gaps on the health status of these populations by responding to policy questions and considerations, as well as summarizing the best available evidence across the world.
The GEHM series touches on several important points for consideration, such as:
• Trends of public health and migration policies and practices during COVID-19 pandemic;
• Continuum of care for non-communicable disease management for migrants and refugees;
• Refugees and migrants access to mental health services;
• Health care in detention;
• Access to essential medication and antibiotics.
The Topic Editors welcome Original Research, Review Articles, Short reports, Case Studies, that explores these 5 themes raised by the GEHM series. This Research Topic aims to explore the findings of the GEHM series and beyond, suggested articles are as follow:
• Lessons learned at a country level on the inclusion/exclusion of migrants and refugees from public health policies and practices in place during COVID-19 pandemic;
• Assessing risks factors, prevalence and access to services for non-communicable disease in migrants in irregular situations;
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health conditions in migrants and refugees population;
• Health impact of migration detention on migrants and asylum seekers;
• How do antibiotic access and overuse challenges in migrant and refugee population threaten efforts towards Universal Health Coverage and undermine progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in your region?
The Topic Editors encourage submissions of manuscripts addressing any of these key areas that will be addressed in the WHO GEHM. Manuscripts offering policy or other intervention evaluations will be of substantial interest for this Research Topic.
