World Refugee Day was celebrated in countries across the globe on 20 June 2020. Established in 2001 by the UN, nations have since celebrated this day to raise awareness about the challenges refugees face and are taking steps to ensure their protection and needs are addressed. During a pandemic, refugees may experience a health, socioeconomic and protection crisis. Because many live in crowded conditions and lack access to hygiene and sanitation facilities, their health is at risk. Many suffer from a loss of income and lack access to social protection. Due to border restrictions and suspended asylum requests imposed by many countries, refugees lack legal protection. An increase in xenophobia and racism during the pandemic also threatens refugees.
While refugees and migrants often live in conditions that may increase vulnerability to COVID-19, they also play key roles in efforts to fight the pandemic. They contribute to their host societies during the pandemic by working in the health sector, assisting as cultural mediators and translators, producing personal protection gear, forming volunteer groups to help the most vulnerable in their communities and creating art and music to promote messages of hope and solidarity.
Ahmed Ahmed is one example of a refugee who put his medical skills to work. Trained as a nurse in Aleppo, Syria, Ahmed now works at a migrant health centre in Izmir, Turkey as part of the contact tracing team helping patients recall everyone whom they had been in close contact with during the time they were infectious. He also works as a translator when interviewing Arabic-speaking patients. “Being able to communicate without language barriers and in a non-judgmental way is of the essence during contact tracing, especially as identifying possibly infected individuals is a time-sensitive matter – the sooner people are identified, the fewer people are at risk,” says Ahmed.
WHO recently announced a closer collaboration with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The organizations work side by side to ensure that preparedness, prevention and public health response measures to COVID-19 reach refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people and those who are stateless. By joining forces, both organizations will be able to better utilize resources and reinforce public health solutions on the ground.
Read more about WHO’s response to COVID-19