Resources Lesson 1: Global Politics of Refugee Health

That the refugee problem is truly global can be seen in this report: Refugees around the globe: Statistics and research on living conditions, health, assistance efforts. Displacement of large numbers of people is occurring in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America and affecting populations throughout the world.

You might also like to look at this short presentation Latin American Refugee Status: Healthcare and Policy by Grace Lee which focuses on the Mexican/US border issues.

In After crisis: health, politics and reflections on the European refugee crisis, Abbas says "The years 2014 and 2015 saw a dramatic rise in the number of migrants entering Europe via the Mediterranean. This rise was mostly accounted for by refugees fleeing the civil war in the Syrian Arab Republic. Since that time Europe has been gripped in a political and humanitarian crisis as the incoming numbers overwhelmed individual state and collective European Union ability to respond effectively." He goes on to "...explore the European Migrant Crisis in geographical, political and humanitarian perspectives, describing and explaining the key events of the crisis."

We have seen this picture previously from the UNHCR 2019 Global Trend report

Further, a growing refugee crisis flowing out of Myanmar and Bangladesh has been characterized by some observers as the worst humanitarian crisis in memory in South Asia. Many have taken to leaving by water, leaving stranded boats in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca; international organizations have called for surrounding countries to help shelter those in distress.

While millions of migrants cross borders within North Africa or the Middle East seeking safety, thousands attempt dangerous trips across the Mediterranean. In the first three months of 2015, more than 1,700 immigrants from North Africa died attempting to reach Europe. With many European nations still struggling with high unemployment rates, the perceived competition for jobs has caused tensions within European nations, even as they struggle with how to manage and assist their growing refugee populations. In the United States, 2014 saw a surge in unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border, with more than 47,000 taken into custody between Oct. 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014.

A 2014 report drawn from fieldwork in Lebanon, where more than 500,000 child refugees from the Syrian conflict now live, observes that refugee children tend to have little or no access to education, sufficient nutrition or healthy living conditions. Another 2014 field study, based in Jordan, finds that a growing number of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, rather than in the rural camps that are stereotypically associated with large refugee populations. Many live in poor housing conditions, and their growing presence in urban areas has impacted housing markets and the availability of affordable housing.

Issues of human rights violations and refugee issues are often inextricably linked, as scholars

.

- See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf
Refugees around the globe: Statistics and research on living conditions, health, assistance efforts - See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf
Refugees around the globe: Statistics and research on living conditions, health, assistance efforts - See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf
Refugees around the globe: Statistics and research on living conditions, health, assistance efforts - See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf
Refugees around the globe: Statistics and research on living conditions, health, assistance efforts - See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikimedia, Julien Harneis)

According to a 2015 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of January 2014 more than 11 million people around the world had been driven from their homes by armed conflict, persecution, natural disasters or other causes. Of these, more than 6 million were in the Middle East, Southern Africa and the East and the Horn of Africa, and more than 1 million in Europe. The number of refugees in the Middle East and North Africa have nearly doubled in recent years, driven by conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other nations. As the numbers grow, displacement patterns are shifting away from camps and toward urban areas.

Further, a growing refugee crisis flowing out of Myanmar and Bangladesh has been characterized by some observers as the worst humanitarian crisis in memory in South Asia. Many have taken to leaving by water, leaving stranded boats in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca; international organizations have called for surrounding countries to help shelter those in distress.

While millions of migrants cross borders within North Africa or the Middle East seeking safety, thousands attempt dangerous trips across the Mediterranean. In the first three months of 2015, more than 1,700 immigrants from North Africa died attempting to reach Europe. With many European nations still struggling with high unemployment rates, the perceived competition for jobs has caused tensions within European nations, even as they struggle with how to manage and assist their growing refugee populations. In the United States, 2014 saw a surge in unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border, with more than 47,000 taken into custody between Oct. 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014.

A 2014 report drawn from fieldwork in Lebanon, where more than 500,000 child refugees from the Syrian conflict now live, observes that refugee children tend to have little or no access to education, sufficient nutrition or healthy living conditions. Another 2014 field study, based in Jordan, finds that a growing number of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, rather than in the rural camps that are stereotypically associated with large refugee populations. Many live in poor housing conditions, and their growing presence in urban areas has impacted housing markets and the availability of affordable housing.

Issues of human rights violations and refugee issues are often inextricably linked, as scholars

.

- See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikimedia, Julien Harneis)

According to a 2015 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of January 2014 more than 11 million people around the world had been driven from their homes by armed conflict, persecution, natural disasters or other causes. Of these, more than 6 million were in the Middle East, Southern Africa and the East and the Horn of Africa, and more than 1 million in Europe. The number of refugees in the Middle East and North Africa have nearly doubled in recent years, driven by conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other nations. As the numbers grow, displacement patterns are shifting away from camps and toward urban areas.

Further, a growing refugee crisis flowing out of Myanmar and Bangladesh has been characterized by some observers as the worst humanitarian crisis in memory in South Asia. Many have taken to leaving by water, leaving stranded boats in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca; international organizations have called for surrounding countries to help shelter those in distress.

While millions of migrants cross borders within North Africa or the Middle East seeking safety, thousands attempt dangerous trips across the Mediterranean. In the first three months of 2015, more than 1,700 immigrants from North Africa died attempting to reach Europe. With many European nations still struggling with high unemployment rates, the perceived competition for jobs has caused tensions within European nations, even as they struggle with how to manage and assist their growing refugee populations. In the United States, 2014 saw a surge in unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border, with more than 47,000 taken into custody between Oct. 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014.

A 2014 report drawn from fieldwork in Lebanon, where more than 500,000 child refugees from the Syrian conflict now live, observes that refugee children tend to have little or no access to education, sufficient nutrition or healthy living conditions. Another 2014 field study, based in Jordan, finds that a growing number of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, rather than in the rural camps that are stereotypically associated with large refugee populations. Many live in poor housing conditions, and their growing presence in urban areas has impacted housing markets and the availability of affordable housing.

Issues of human rights violations and refugee issues are often inextricably linked, as scholars

.

- See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikimedia, Julien Harneis)

According to a 2015 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of January 2014 more than 11 million people around the world had been driven from their homes by armed conflict, persecution, natural disasters or other causes. Of these, more than 6 million were in the Middle East, Southern Africa and the East and the Horn of Africa, and more than 1 million in Europe. The number of refugees in the Middle East and North Africa have nearly doubled in recent years, driven by conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other nations. As the numbers grow, displacement patterns are shifting away from camps and toward urban areas.

Further, a growing refugee crisis flowing out of Myanmar and Bangladesh has been characterized by some observers as the worst humanitarian crisis in memory in South Asia. Many have taken to leaving by water, leaving stranded boats in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca; international organizations have called for surrounding countries to help shelter those in distress.

While millions of migrants cross borders within North Africa or the Middle East seeking safety, thousands attempt dangerous trips across the Mediterranean. In the first three months of 2015, more than 1,700 immigrants from North Africa died attempting to reach Europe. With many European nations still struggling with high unemployment rates, the perceived competition for jobs has caused tensions within European nations, even as they struggle with how to manage and assist their growing refugee populations. In the United States, 2014 saw a surge in unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border, with more than 47,000 taken into custody between Oct. 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014.

A 2014 report drawn from fieldwork in Lebanon, where more than 500,000 child refugees from the Syrian conflict now live, observes that refugee children tend to have little or no access to education, sufficient nutrition or healthy living conditions. Another 2014 field study, based in Jordan, finds that a growing number of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, rather than in the rural camps that are stereotypically associated with large refugee populations. Many live in poor housing conditions, and their growing presence in urban areas has impacted housing markets and the availability of affordable housing.

Issues of human rights violations and refugee issues are often inextricably linked, as scholars

.

- See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/refugees-around-the-globe-statistics-and-research-on-living-conditions-health-assistance-efforts#sthash.1HkKQYTp.dpuf

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has identified a number of new trends: "Protecting and assisting the most vulnerable people on Earth is becoming increasingly complicated with the emergence of a number of complex and interconnected global mega-trends. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres says these trends include population growth, urbanization, food and energy insecurity, water scarcity, and climate change.

Of particular concern to UNHCR is the fact that these mega-trends are exacerbating conflict and combining in numerous ways today to oblige millions more people to flee their homelands. The reasons for displacement today are far more complex than those envisaged under the 1951 Convention, and the distinctions between refugees and migrants and voluntary and involuntary movements are becoming increasingly blurred.

Natural disasters - floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides - are increasing in frequency and intensity. While most of the displacement caused by these events is internal, they can also cause people to cross borders. None of the existing international and regional refugee law instruments, however, specifically addresses the plight of such people."

Climate change and disaster displacement reports another new trend "UNHCR recognizes that the consequences of climate change are extremely serious, including for refugees and other people of concern. The Global Compact on Refugees (see below) adopted by an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly in December 2018, directly addresses this growing concern. It recognizes that ‘climate, environmental degradation and natural disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements.

In Overview of forced displacement, UNHCR identifies three major challenges:

  • the increasingly protracted nature of many modern conflicts;
  • the increasingly dangerous climate in which humanitarian actors must work today, or what UNHCR calls the "shrinking of humanitarian space”
  • the erosion of the institution of asylum. This is particularly of concern in industrialized countries trying to cope with so-called "mixed movements” in which migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and victims of trafficking travel alongside each other

Please explore Refworld from UNHCR, which contains many valuable references to explore issues about the  politics of refugees and refugee health.

Legal issues: There is consensus on the public health need to provide for the healthcare needs of migrants, including undocumented migrants. The legal environment, however, is arbitrary and discriminatory against migrants. In 2015 in Namibia, the government overnight raised the price of accessing ART for migrant workers (mainly women) leaving most unable to access treatment. The Botswana government also refuses to provide ART to refugees and asylum seekers despite adopting an encampment policy for these groups of migrants.

Global governance is required

In Building alliances for the global governance of migration and health, the authors offer these messages:

  • Universal health coverage will not be attained if migration is not integrated into existing health responses and if health is not integrated into existing migration responses

  • The governance of migration and health is an issue of state sovereignty that questions the role of global migration and health governance initiatives

  • Building alliances across sectors can support effective migration aware governance responses to migration and health

  • A “migration and health in all policies” approach to the governance of migration and health requires capacity building within core sectors

Global Compact on Refugees:

On 17 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the Global Compact on Refugees, after two years of extensive consultations led by UNHCR with Member States, international organizations, refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts.

It provides a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation. the GCR indicators framework

It provides a blueprint for governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure that host communities get the support they need and that refugees can lead productive lives. 

It constitutes a unique opportunity to transform the way the world responds to refugee situations, benefiting both refugees and the communities that host them.

Its four key objectives are to:

  • Ease the pressures on host countries;
  • Enhance refugee self-reliance;
  • Expand access to third-country solutions;
  • Support conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity.

Highly recommended book:

Betts and Collier, in their excellent book Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System report four big ideas

  • The right ethical focus is the duty to rescue the displaced from the disruption to normal life generated by flight from home
  • Best places for safe haven are those that are easy for the displaced to reach and rich countries should make it financially feasible for those haven countries to take them
  • Best way to restore normality is to work, so jobs should be brought to the haven countries
  • Economic support needed for refuge can also be used incubating post-conflict recovery
Last modified: Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 9:15 AM