Migration – the movement of people from their home to a new area – has been present throughout human history, and can have many benefits for those moving and for the societies they move to. However, the scale of migration today, and the increase in the number of forced migrants, poses new health and wider social challenges for many wealthy and developing countries around the world.
There are now an estimated 200 million international migrants – people who have lived outside their home country for more than a year. The majority of these are people who have moved voluntarily for a better life. But they also include around 37 million displaced men, women, and children who are fleeing war, persecution and political upheaval. Over 11 million people have crossed international borders to seek safety in another country and become refugees; another 26 million people are still living within their native country as internally displaced people.
More people are migrating than ever before as a result of poverty and global inequality, land pressure, climate change, famine, war, and persecution. Air travel means they are also moving faster and further than ever. Formal transfers of money from migrants back to their home countries exceeded $250 billion in 2007 – many times more than the value of foreign aid. But ‘brain-drain’ migration of essential workers, such as doctors, nurses and teachers to rich countries can also undermine development efforts in developing countries.
How does migration impact on health?
Migration also has the potential to spread disease – this is particularly the case if host countries restrict access to healthcare (as has been seen in the UK and other rich nations) or fail to provide services that are culturally sensitive and inclusive. Protecting the health and welfare of migrants is the best way to protect wider public health, social development, and security.
People forced to migrate because of conflict or persecution – whether they are legally defined as refugees or internally displaced people – face particularly hard situations. They have usually been uprooted with little warning, faced hardship fleeing from their homes, and are living in uncertainty. If they are living in camps, the conditions make them more susceptible to ill health and disease. For those still within their own country there may also be the ongoing threat of persecution. And as with so many global issues, it is women and children who are most vulnerable, making up 80% of refugees worldwide.
Pressing need
The most immediate needs of refugees are shelter, clean water, and essential healthcare. A lack of family planning and sexual health services is the biggest cause of death and disease among women refugees; among children the biggest killers are malaria, malnutrition, measles, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections. But the average length of displacement for refugees is now 17 years, so education for children and the right to study and work for adults are important to create stability and to enable refugees to contribute to the reconstruction effort when they do eventually return home. There are more than 1.5 million school age refugee children in developing countries, but more than one in five aren’t enrolled in school.
Health Poverty Action says:
- Every government needs to ensure migrants and refugees have equal access to health and other social services that are appropriate and inclusive.
- National health services need to understand the dynamics and demographics of migration – where people are coming from, and what their possible health impacts and needs will be.
Last modified: 12/01/2011
