WHO has primary responsibility for promoting the health of refugees and migrants, with a current focus on prevention and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Refugees and migrants face the same health risks as the host population, but due to various barriers — geography, facilities, discrimination and costs — they may lack access to the health services required to control and treat illness. A recently published Lancet article^[3] warned of the increasing risks facing refugees and migrants, particularly those in camp settings where simple preventative measures like social distancing and self-isolation are harder to implement.

In countries that host a large number of refugees and migrants, WHO country offices have been working with ministries of health and other partners in their efforts to prevent and control COVID-19. and collaborated with other UN agencies to provide interim technical guidance^[4] on scaling up outbreak readiness in humanitarian situations, including refugee camp and non-camp settings. Similar guidance has been released specifically relating to countries in the European^[5] and Eastern Mediterranean^[6] regions where refugee populations are high.

The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) has developed a reporting system to monitor the occurrence and trend of COVID-19 among displaced populations in camps and non-camps settings. The country Offices, including Djibouti, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, report any rumour immediately and aggregate data every week. Also, to enhance interagency coordination for country supports, WHO EMRO in collaboration with IOM, ESCWA and ILO have established a “Regional Taskforce on COVID-19 and Migration/Mobility”.

In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, WHO is working with governments^[7] to secure the health of nearly one million Rohingya refugees and their host community against multiple threats of COVID19, cyclone and diseases associated with the upcoming monsoon season.

“It is essential that organizations working with refugees and migrants have access to the technical guidance and resources required to prevent and control COVID-19 among displaced populations,” said Dr Zsuzsanna JAKAB Deputy Director-General of WHO.