Fourteen research projects have been awarded grants following a call for proposals to support the generation of evidence on migrant health needs, concerns and situations in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. This call for proposals has been the first collaboration between TDR, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the WHO Global Programme on Health and Migration.
Refugees and migrants in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) constitute a sizeable population in the region, predominantly marginalized within most countries. In 2018, there were 18 million refugees from the region. Moreover, as many remain marginalized, they lack access to affordable and quality healthcare service, including adequate preventive and promotive services. In addition, gender as a social construct, and other social variables, contribute to determine who migrates and which migration-related risks and opportunities may emerge in the different stages of the migration trajectory.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that vulnerable populations such as refugees, low-income and irregular migrants must be included in all health policies, plans and programmes. Despite the fact that health of refugees and migrants is a major concern in the EMR, the evidence, knowledge and tools available are not always adequate to tackle existing problems.
As such, there is an urgent need for research to generate evidence, as well as translating and disseminating such evidence in support of health policy making. Fourteen proposals have been selected for funding from 10 EMR states, including Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan and Syria.
Priority research areas for support
- Universal health coverage and inclusion in national health systems
- Social determinants of health of refugees and migrants, including how sex, gender and other social variables interact and influence health status and health-related experiences of migrant and refugee populations
- Preparedness for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Priority communicable and non-communicable diseases
- Continuity of health care throughout the migration routes
- Health care finance for refugees and migrants
The selected proposals include:
| Country | Principal investigator | Project title |
| Egypt | Engy El-Ghitany | A primary survey of some communicable and non-communicable infections of public health importance among Syrian migrants in Egypt |
| Iran | Abbas Ostad Taghi Zadeh | The situation analysis of migrants and refugees who live in Tehran and providing evidence-based solutions to prepare health care services for them |
| Iran | Tahereh Pashaei | Exploring the challenges Kurdish migrant workers face during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Iran | Amirhossein Takian | Developing a model for sustainable healthcare financing for documented Afghan refugees along the pathway towards UHC in Iran |
| Jordan | Nadia Abu Sabrah | Extent of under-notification of tuberculosis cases among migrants in the health system in Jordan during the period from May-October 2021 |
| Lebanon | Sanaa Khardaqii | Access of Syrian refugees to COVID-19 testing in Lebanon |
| Lebanon | Rafic Baddoura | COVID-19 vaccination preparedness to reach both local and migrant elderly subjects: the one-thousand population-based survey |
| Morocco | Touria Essayagh | Disease burden among immigrants in Morocco: a cross‑sectional study |
| Morocco | Laila Acharai | Evaluating the impact of violence against women and girls migrants on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Morocco |
| Oman | Hooman Hossein Nejad Nedaei | Vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic among migrants: a nationwide web-based survey in Oman |
| Pakistan | Farkhanda Ghafoor | Knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19 infection of Afghan refugees living in Lahore, Pakistan |
| Palestine | Khaled Abu Ali | COVID-19 crisis and its impact on delivery of essential health services in the Southern Governorates |
| Sudan | Abdalla Hassan Sharief | Current influx of Ethiopian migrants and refugees in eastern Sudan: rapid health assessment and challenges to access health care |
For more information, please contact Dr Garry Aslanyan at TDR or Dr Ahmed Mandil at WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.