How Will the Pandemic Reshape Public Health for Migrants?
In the wake of COVID-19, speakers reflected on the implications of the public-health crisis for migrant health and discussed innovations that could reduce health care disparities for immigrants and other diverse populations.
The COVID-19 public-health crisis exacerbated longstanding migrant vulnerabilities ranging from heightened exposure to infection to disproportionate barriers in accessing health services. However, the pandemic also triggered innovations in migration and health policy that may ultimately improve conditions for some migrants—including regularization, increased health-care benefits, and increased use of digital tools to improve health literacy and information provision. The acute understanding that public health requires coverage for the entire community has renewed interest in tackling issues faced by marginalized populations.
With COVID-19 likely to significantly reshape health-care systems in Europe and worldwide, there is a window of opportunity to test new strategies to tackle longstanding migrant health disparities, and ensure that structural changes accommodate the complex needs of diverse populations. What lessons can be learned from strategies that arose during the pandemic and can they inform more inclusive health care post-pandemic? This webinar featured experts and policymakers assessing the most promising strategies to ensure migrant health after the pandemic, as well as the related challenges and opportunities.
Speakers highlighted key findings from the ApartTogether study about the impact of the pandemic on migrants, reflected on the implications of the public-health crisis for migrant health, examined practical strategies that countries such as Portugal have taken, and discussed the most pressing challenges and issues facing migrants in European public-health systems today. This webinar is part of the Integration Futures Working Group initiative supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. A related report from the project — Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe — also addressed some of the topics raised on this webinar.
Speakers:
llse Derluyn, Professor, Ghent University; Researcher, ApartTogether study about the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and refugees
Sonia Pereira, High Commissioner for Migration, Portugal
Santino Severoni, Director, Health and Migration Program, World Health Organization (WHO)
Moderator:
Jasmijn Slootjes, Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute Europe
Integration Futures Working Group
The Integration Futures Working Group convenes senior European policymakers and others to debate forward-looking integration policy through peer exchange, original research, and off-the-record dialogue to achieve better integration outcomes.
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