COVID-19 disproportionately harms refugees and migrants - WHO study
With over 30,000 respondents from most member states of the WHO, the study is the first serious attempt to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on refugees and migrants.
By TOBIAS SIEGALUpdated: DECEMBER 19, 2020 20:55African migrants wait in line for the opening of the Population and Immigration Authority office in Bnei Brak, Israel February 4, 2018(photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
The coronavirus pandemic has had a disproportionately harmful impact on refugees and migrants around the world, a new study published by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed.With over 30,000 respondents from most member states of the WHO, the study is the first serious attempt to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on refugees and migrants, who often "live highly insecure lives on the fringes of society," before even considering the challenges added on by COVID-19. The study examined the impact that the pandemic has had on the mental and physical health of refugees and migrants, as well as on their ability to work and support themselves.Specifically, the study showed that the pandemic caused the already existing barriers faced by refugees and migrants to be even harder to deal with, leaving them helpless when facing bureaucratic steps meant to help them fulfil their rights and receive basic treatment.“Refugees and migrants live and work in often-harsh conditions with inadequate access to health, housing, water, sanitation and other basic services,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “It is vital for all countries to reduce barriers that prevent refugees and migrants from obtaining health care, and to include them in national health policies,” he added.Such barriers include limited access to information caused by language and cultural differences, coupled with the geographic marginalization of refugees and migrant communities, which make it difficult for relevant information to reach such communities. And when it does, it is usually met with skepticism and a lack of trust in its validity.This also causes many refugees and migrants not to seek medical treatment in the first place, including for COVID-19.Moreover, the study showed that undocumented migrants are more likely to choose not to contact a doctor in case of COVID-19-related symptoms and are often excluded from national health programs or social protection schemes that could facilitate access to health and social services.The WHO study concludes that in order to gradually change the reality for millions of refugees all countries must do a better job in including refugees and migrants in their national health plans and to make information more accessible.The limited access to information and services have other, perhaps more drastic implications for some.Spokesperson of Israel's Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, Shira Abbo, recently toldThe Jerusalem Post that “since the beginning of corona, people were unable to come to government office hours to have their temporary residency visas extended.”It was very touch-and-go in March, but by June, the initial government solution was that migrants would continue to hold onto their old and expired physical visa, while printing out an extension page from a government website.Abbo said the website also was generally not user-friendly and that it took even her professional staff time to figure out how to properly enter information – which required some mathematical calculations regarding visa expiration dates. After months of dialogue, the government was convinced in August to simplify aspects of the process.Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
