Health of refugees and migrants - WHO African Region (2018)

Overview

To achieve the vision of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals – to leave no one behind – it is imperative that the health needs of refugees and migrants be adequately addressed. In its 140th session in January 2017, the Executive Board requested that its Secretariat develop a framework of priorities and guiding principles to promote the health of refugees and migrants. In May 2017, the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed resolution 70.15 on ‘Promoting the health of refugees and migrants’. The resolution urges Member States to strengthen international cooperation on the health of refugees and migrants in line with the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. It urges Member States to consider providing the necessary health-related assistance through bilateral and international cooperation to those countries hosting and receiving large populations of refugees and migrants, as well as using the framework of priorities and guiding principles at all levels. In addition, the resolution requests the Director-General to conduct a situation analysis, and identify best practices, experiences and lessons learned in order to contribute to the development of a global action plan for the seventy-second WHA in 2019.