A new international report on the health challenges of migrants and refugees upends the popular belief that people who travel to industrialized countries in Europe and elsewhere pose a public health risk for their host countries—confirming that in fact, the opposite is true.
“As migrants and refugees become more vulnerable than the host population to the risk of developing both noncommunicable and communicable diseases, it is necessary that they receive timely access to quality health services, as everyone else.” —Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO
In the first report of its kind, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday revealed that refugees are likely to be in good overall health when they leave their home countries, but are put at risk for infectious and chronic diseases in their new homes—where quality and affordable healthcare is often unavailable to them.
Host countries must work “to protect” migrants from the heath risks they encounter after traveling to their new homes, the report said.
“Refugees and migrants are potentially at greater risk of developing infectious diseases because of their exposure to infections, lack of access to health care, interrupted care, and poor living conditions during the migration process,” WHO reported.
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