Strengthening the knowledge base on the health of refugees and migrants

WHO works with its Collaborating Centres and other academic partners to strengthen the knowledge base on refugee and migrant health and to make it accessible for policy-makers and practitioners.

Availability of the latest international evidence and data is crucial to ensure evidence-informed refugee- and migrant-sensitive policies and intervention programmes.

High-quality migration health data is often scarce. Many countries lack routine systems to collect such data and, if available, the integration of the data collected into national health information systems tends to be poor. Without data, developing and implementing migration policies advocating for good health outcomes for refugees and migrants is impossible. Policy-makers can only design, adopt and implement effectful policies if they know:

• what health status and needs refugees and migrants have
• what barriers they face
• what policies and interventions have proven effectful
• what best practices exist in other countries.

WHO supports policy-makers and practitioners by:

• summarizing the current evidence on refugee and migrant health;
• organizing capacity-building workshops; and
• facilitating exchange of know-how with countries and academics within and across the WHO African, Eastern Mediterranean and European regions.