Global Health Leaders Urge Action to Protect Migrant and Refugee Health
A coalition of global health organisations and experts is sounding the alarm over what they describe as a growing risk to the health and well-being of over one billion migrants, refugees, and displaced individuals worldwide. As the geopolitical landscape shifts and international funding shrinks, advocates fear that the health of these populations is being sidelined, a move that could threaten not only human rights but global public health itself.
The Virchow Foundation, backed by more than a dozen leading health organisations including the Global Sepsis Alliance, Malteser International, FIGO, and the German Health Alliance, has issued a joint call to uphold refugee and migrant health as a “global public health priority.”
“Migration and health are inextricably linked,” the joint statement reads. “This is not just a humanitarian issue. It is a strategic imperative for global health.”
According to the latest figures, more than 304 million international migrants, 123 million displaced people, and 763 million internal migrants live across the globe. These individuals face disproportionate health risks, from infectious diseases and maternal complications to mental health challenges and chronic conditions, exacerbated by displacement, poverty, and social exclusion.
Yet, as international agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO) undergo restructuring, there are growing concerns that the dedicated Health and Migration Program may be scaled down or dissolved altogether. Reports from Health Policy Watch suggest a potential reduction in WHO’s technical capacity on migration health, a move that could significantly undermine support to countries already struggling to respond to increasing health demands linked to migration.
The WHO’s own guidance recognizes that refugees and migrants frequently come from regions afflicted by war, instability, or economic collapse, and that their exclusion from health systems is not only inequitable but dangerous.
Without addressing the needs of these populations, the joint call warns, achieving all global health-related and development targets, such as the United Nations 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and strengthening preparedness and response to health emergencies, would be at serious risk.
Far from being passive recipients of aid, migrants and refugees are often integral to health systems themselves. In many high-income countries grappling with aging populations and workforce shortages, migrants fill critical roles in healthcare provision, from nursing and caregiving to emergency response.
Beyond ethics and pragmatism, economic data underscores the significance of migration. Remittances from migrant workers contribute over $650 billion to low- and middle-income countries annually, bolstering development and, by extension, population health.
The joint call urges WHO, UN member states, and national health ministries to:
- Ensure health systems are equipped to address the public health challenges of migration and displacement, supported by robust research and evidence-based policy.
- Recognize migrants and refugees as integral to the health systems of many high-income countries.
- Monitor and mitigate the health and development impacts of shifting migration policies.
- Maintain or increase support for migration and health and ensure that it remains a priority in the global health agenda, including within WHO.
During the 78th World Health Assembly this May, more than 15 countries co-sponsored a side event on health and migration, reiterating support for the WHO Global Action Plan on Promoting the Health of Refugees and Migrants, which has been extended until 2030. However, advocates caution that symbolic commitments must translate into concrete action.
In a world increasingly shaped by climate-induced displacement, conflict, and economic migration, the advocates stress that failing to uphold migrant health not only violates fundamental rights but poses severe risks to global stability.
As world leaders prepare for the upcoming UN Summit on the Future later this year, global health stakeholders are urging renewed investment, political will, and public attention. The message is clear: in the face of rising migration, inclusion is not optional, it is essential.
For further action:
Organisations and individuals can sign the joint call at the links provided by the Virchow Foundation:
Affiliations
1. UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health
2. Consortium of Universities for Global Health
3. Global Sepsis Alliance
4. The Global Surgery Foundation
5. Medical Women’s International Association
6. Malteser International
7. GHA – German Health Alliance
8. Charité Center for Global Health, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
9. FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics)
10. Global Migration Policy Associates
11. IRIA | Akkon University of Applied Human Sciences
12. One Sustainable Health for All Foundation | One Sustainable Health FORUM
14. One Europe for Global Health
