Preparedness, prevention and control of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for refugees and migrants in non-camp settings

Most refugees a and migrants b live in individual and communal accommodations in cities, towns, industrial and urban areas. They face similar health threats from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as their host populations. However, due to the conditions of their migratory journeys, limited employment opportunities, overcrowded and poor living and working conditions with inadequate access to food, water, sanitation, and other basic services, refugees and migrants may have specific vulnerabilities. Many migrants are often excluded from national programmes for health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and care, as well as from financial protection schemes for health and social services. This exclusion makes early detection, testing, diagnosis, contact tracing and seeking care for COVID-19 difficult for refugees and migrants thus increasing the risk of outbreaks in these populations, and that such outbreaks may go unchecked or even actively concealed. These conditions present an additional threat to public health.