Migration and health news from around the WHO European Region
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Migration and health news from around the WHO European Region.
Migration and Health Newsletter
December 2024
18 December 2024 - Global
On 18 December, WHO/Europe marks International Migrants Day by joining the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in its call to help people find safety and opportunity by supporting their access to health services at every step of their migration journey. International Migrants Day is marked each year to advocate for migrants’ rights, including their right to health.
On this day, we highlight once more that migrants have the right to health at every step of their migration journey. Migration is normal; humanity has always been on the move for different reasons and through different routes. Besides, migrants are not “just migrants”; they are, among other professions, doctors, nurses and provide a wide range of other health care support.
Read the event notice here.
Ukrainian nurses working in Slovakia
18 December 2024 - Slovakia
Following the onset of war in Ukraine in February 2022, millions of people fled the country and found refuge in the European Union. Among those fleeing were health care professionals, just like Kateryna and Iryna, two nurses now providing health care in their communities in Slovakia. In this video, Kateryna and Iryna tell us about their experiences.
WHO is working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) to support countries in improving access to health-care services for refugees and displaced people from Ukraine. The project is called “Improving access to health care for refugees and people displaced from Ukraine benefiting from temporary protection in EU Member States”. It is funded by the EU from 2023 to 2025 as part of the 2023 EU4Health Work Programme. Slovakia is one of the 10 European countries, (also Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Republic of Moldova, Romania,) where the project is implemented.
18 December 2024 - Europe Region
Our latest fact sheet highlights critical challenges. 9 million children in our Region are displaced by conflict, persecution, disasters, climate crises, poverty and exploitation. These children face barriers to accessing healthcare; trauma affecting development; harmful conditions in reception centres; and limited access to education. Unaccompanied children face particular risks of violence, abuse, and trafficking.
Countries can protect children by upholding international humanitarian law, providing community alternatives to camps, ensuring quality healthcare access. They can also strengthen their systems by collaborating cross-border, ensuring emergency preparedness, collecting data by migration status, and monitoring health. Working together, we can ensure better support for children affected by forced displacement.
WHO trains health mediators on Global Competency Standards
18 December 2024 - Riga, Latvia
When mediators perform their roles to high standards, their impact is remarkable. Recognizing this, WHO/Europe and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have deployed cultural and health mediators in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, and Romania, to assist refugees and displaced people from Ukraine under the joint WHO, IOM and EU project To ensure mediators are equipped with essential skills to provide high-quality support, WHO facilitated a 2.5-day training on Global Competency Standards for refugee and migrant health on 24-26 September 2024, in Riga, Latvia. The majority of participants attending the training were from Ukraine, with some from the host country.
The training aimed to equip mediators with the necessary competencies to provide culturally sensitive services and work toward universal health coverage, ensuring adherence to the Global Competency Standards on refugee and migrant health.
Enroll in the online version of the course here.
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnership Workshop brought together global health stakeholders
11-13 December 2024 - Lyon, France
The Universal Health Coverage Partnership (UHC-P) Global Meeting 2024 was held in Lyon, France, from 11 to 13 December, bringing together over 100 countries’ representatives, partners, and WHO staff. The event focused on reorienting health systems toward a primary health care (PHC) approach, aligned with WHO’s Global Programme of Work (GPW14). Through knowledge sharing, networking, and collaborative discussions, participants sought to address challenges, define priorities, and plan actionable strategies to strengthen UHC systems globally.
This meeting showcased key results and lessons from UHC initiatives in over 130 countries. Participants refined UHC-P strategies, leveraging accountability tools such aslive monitoring and annual reports to meet GPW14 targets. The event also aimed to reinvigorate the global UHC network, attract new partnerships, and inspire innovative approaches to achieve equitable and sustainable health systems.
During the migration and health side event, the health system review conducted for Estonia was presented.
Read the WHO Director-General's opening remarks here.
WHO holds Fifth Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health
10 December 2024 - Geneva, Switzerland
The WHO Department of Health and Migration held the fifth edition of the Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health (Global School, 2024) from 2 to 6 December 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. The event was also livestreamed to the virtual audience from various parts of the world.
The main theme of the 2024 Global School was “Advancing Universal Health Coverage for Refugees and Migrants: From Evidence to Action.” The event featured various high-level speakers, keynote addresses, video reportages, expert panel discussions as well as question and answer sessions. Key deliberations hinged on fostering long-term strategies to enhance health system strengthening through inclusive health policies, the use of quality data and evidence, capacity building of the health workforce and providing accessible and cost-effective health services for all. During the event, the health system review conducted for Estonia was presented.
The Fifth Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health was organized by the WHO Regional Office for the Americas/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in collaboration with the Colombian Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
3 December 2024 - Moscow, Russian Federation
Access to healthcare for workers and members of their families from EAEU member states was a key focus of the Eurasian Economic Commission's Advisory Committee meeting on Social Protection of Workers in Moscow. The event brought together committee members, experts, and international organization representatives to address critical healthcare issues for labour migrants and their families in host countries.
Discussions centered on ensuring equitable access to healthcare services, with particular attention to mandatory health insurance for workers' family members in the Russian Federation, as stipulated by the EAEU Treaty.
WHO representatives emphasized the importance of collaboration with the Commission and WHO’s European Office in preparing an analytical report on labour migrants' health within the EAEU. The report aims to assess health challenges, identify opportunities to improve access to healthcare, and outline priorities for cooperation. The participants underscored the need for continued efforts to strengthen healthcare systems and improve support for labour migrants and their families.
Launch of the Refugee and Migrant Health System Review in Estonia
20 November 2024 - Tallinn, Estonia
The Refugee and Migrant Health System Review in Estonia was conducted in 2024 by WHO, the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) of Estonia and key partners. The review aimed to identify the health challenges faced by refugees and migrants in Estonia and assess the country's capacity to integrate these populations into its health system. It focused on health system building blocks, including governance, service delivery, financing, information systems and workforce, as well as public health preparedness, risk communication and community engagement. Through field visits and interviews, the review highlighted key areas for long-term health system strengthening and offered actionable recommendations.
The report was formally launched on 20 November in a high-level technical meeting with key stakeholders from MoSA in Estonia, WHO and relevant partners. The event presented the key findings, highlighted critical challenges, and provided a platform for discussions on the practical implementation of the recommendations.
Spotlight on Labour Migration at the 3rd Eurasian Economic Forum in Yerevan
In Russian
30 September 2024 - Yerevan, Armenia
On 30 September 2024, the 3rd Eurasian Economic Forum in Yerevan, Armenia, marked the 10th anniversary of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), with focused discussions on its future priorities. The session “Common Labour Market: Prospects for Development” highlighted the need to safeguard the health and well-being of workers, particularly labour migrants.
Held under Armenia's 2024 EAEU leadership, the Forum featured officials from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, alongside representatives from the IOM, WHO, and the General Confederation of Trade Unions.
Key discussions included legislative recommendations for managing migration during the pandemic, guidelines for the professional training of workers and specialists involved in external labour migration, and strategies for protecting victims of human trafficking. Participants emphasized adopting CIS model laws on employment, migration, and social protection as tools for advancing the EAEU’s unified labour market. The session also stressed the importance of implementing WHO’s 2023–2030 Action Plan for Migrant Health to foster a resilient, inclusive labour market prioritizing health and social protection.
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