This session will delve into migration and displacement as over-arching terminology, concepts, and their direct and indirect impacts on health (including during the COVID-19 pandemic) in relation with policies, planning, service provision and humanitarian approaches. The session will discuss these concepts more specifically in the EMR region while introducing the WHO EMRO key approach and strategy to promote the health of refugees and migrants in the region.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the causes and mechanisms of migration and displacement
• Define the key terms in the arena of refugees and migrants’ health 
• Identify the direct and indirect health impacts of migration and displacement 
• Explain the impacts of migration and displacement on health systems and services and humanitarian aid approaches 
• Explain the WHO EMRO key approach and strategy to promote the health of refugees and migrants in the region  

This session will discuss the role of key international actors that have historically, and currently worked on migrant and refugee populations in the region (WHO, IOM, UNHCR, UN Human Rights) and the international framework that governs their responses to the needs of refugees and migrants. It will address where the mandates of these agencies overlap and intersect, where joint efforts are in place, and where the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), as well as Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) fit within this framework. This session will also discuss the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, and in line with this resolution, the global action plan (GAP) 2019-2023. It will also touch upon the role of international conventions in governing refugee populations and their access to services (the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol).

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the international frameworks, mechanisms, conventions and agencies’ specific roles in governing migrant and refugee populations, and the COVID-19 response more specifically.
• Place the GCM and the GCR within the international frameworks and mechanisms, and learn how both Global Compacts enhance the protection of vulnerable populations and their access to quality health services.
• Explain the main components of the WHA resolution on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, and the related global action plan as well as its implementation status in EMR countries.

This session will address how financing of health care delivery for migrants and refugees is critical to achieve UHC and meet SDGs, what are the challenges and what innovative solutions can be pursued. UHC means that all people and communities can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of enough quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship. In fact, the UHC cannot be achieved if the refugees and migrants cannot afford the health services. This session will introduce the ways that helps with understanding of the health financing mechanisms for refugees and migrants according to the specific context, broadly categorized in two groups of urban and humanitarian settings. Any health financing schemes need to be combined with a way of financially protecting the poor and other potentially vulnerable persons. This requires thinking about new sources of funding and innovative financing instruments. Integration of refugees and migrants into financial health system of the host country will improve health services and outcomes for both nationals and refugees and migrants. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the status of financial coverage of health services for refugees and migrants in EMR countries
• Identify the challenges that exist in covering the costs of health services for refugees and migrants in different settings including urban and humanitarian settings
• Explore diverse sources of innovative humanitarian and development health financing for refugees and migrants in urban and humanitarian settings 
• Discuss the ways to integrate refugees and migrants into the financial systems of the regional countries 

This session will address migration within the framework of Universal Health Coverage. It will address how the health needs of migrants and refugees will require action at the local, national, and global levels. It will address the consequences migration proposes for healthcare delivery, national governments and international bodies and the responsibility of international actors to ensure that, in keeping with their pledged obligations to the Sustainable Development Goals, no migrant or refugee is “left behind.” The session will introduce methods and tools to analyze integration of refugees and migrants’ health in the national health systems. It will also touch upon how the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees ensure further commitment by international bodies and nations to provide high-quality preventive and curative healthcare to these population groups.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

• Identify where migrant and refugee populations fit within a universal health coverage framework, as well as the notions of responsibility among national, regional and international actors. 
• Analyze the status of integration of refugees and migrants into national health systems of EMR countires and identify the policy options and practical solutions to enhance the integraiton process and build migrant-sensitve health systems 
• Connect health coverage of refugees and migrants to the Sustainable Development Goals of the countries in EMR 

A social determinants of health approach focuses on the structural factors, aside from health services, that are determined by social and economic policies and inequalities and have important effects on health. This session will discuss that the migration is both a product of social determinants and social determinant by itself. The health of a migrant is shaped by the experiences and situations in the place of origin, during transit, and in the place of destination, and in some cases during the return to the place of origin. Conditions surrounding migration often fuel health inequities and may expose migrants to increased health risks and negative health outcomes. It is important to apply a broad social determinants lens to understand migrants’ experiences and how related policies impact health. Without this perspective, the migration experience is cast as secondary to more proximal factors rather than addressing the root causes of ill-health in these communities. This session will provide an opportunity to examine migration through a social determinants of health lens and from a more holistic approach to allow greater understanding of these complex, interrelated, and far-reaching impacts.

Learning objectives:

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Explain how the migration is a socially determined phenomena and how health of migrants is affected by root socioeconomic causes
• Discuss the impact of interaction between political, economic and health landscapes on policy-formation, health responses and humanitarian aid in the context of refugees and migrants’ health
• Initiate dialogue between two related phenomena—social determinants of health and immigration—to leverage the opportunities for research, practice, and policy work.

Each refugee and migrant must have full, uninterrupted access to quality health care whenever needed, without discrimination based on gender, age, religion, nationality or race. To ensure the health of people on move and the communities, continuation of health services should be maintained throughout the migration route from the place of origin, during the transit and in the place of destination. This session will address the importance in maintaining essential health services for population on move as a key component of achieving UHC. The session will also discuss challenges in regard with the disruptions in services in the EMR region amid conflicts, humanitarian emergencies and the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges include but not limited to legal status, financial barriers, security, language and cultural barriers, and access to information. In addition, the continuity of services can be interrupted if refugees and migrants’ health services such as vaccination are not included in the national policies and plans. This session will also provide the opportunity to discuss the importance of the health system preparedness of the host countries to diagnose and treat common infectious diseases and NCDs. Under the International health regulations (2005), all countries should have effective disease surveillance and reporting systems and capacity for outbreak investigation, case management and response at points of entry and in the health system inside the country. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Define the continuation of essential health services throughout the migration route
• Discuss the challenges and solutions of providing quality health services to population on move from place of origin to the transit and place of destination
• Analyze the lessons learned from provision of health services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including both COVID related and non-related services 
• Understand the IHR core capacities needed for addressing the health of population on move    

The EMR faces considerable public health challenges, specifically those brought on by protracted emergencies. As a result, the region has long struggled with the forced movement of people. As of today, there are millions of forcibly displaced populations including refugees, IDPs and returnees who are in dire need of protection and humanitarian assistance. On top of this, the COVID-19 pandemic has added further challenges and hardship to the lives of these vulnerable populations. This session will address the needs of the refugees and migrants that are living in humanitarian settings including those in camps and camp-like settings. The session will also delve into the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) for COVID‑19 that was launched in 2020 to facilitate a coordinated approach in the COVID-19 response in humanitarian settings and among vulnerable migrant and refugee groups. The session will focus on the guiding principles of humanitarian response including gender-responsive life-saving response with attention to women and girls’ special needs. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will able to: 

• Understand the health needs of refugees and migrants in humanitarian settings 
• Identify the policy options and best practices in responding to the humanitarian needs of forcibly displaced populations 
• Learn how to leverage the humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach for promoting health of refugees and migrants 
• Discuss the opportunities for all-hazard disaster risk reduction to protect populations from forced displacement by natural and man-made disasters   
• Learn the importance of a coordinated approach to the COVID-19 response among migrants and refugees in humanitarian settings 
• Discuss a comprehensive approach to address the specific needs of the most vulnerable refugees and migrants groups including women and girls 

This session will address the key activities are needed to protect and promote the health of refugees and migrants in EMR in both urban and humanitarian settings. As such the session will specifically address the following health protection programs: prevention, control and management of communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases and addressing the social and mental health of refugees and migrants. Among the health promotion activities awareness raisin and leveraging the community-based initiatives will be discussed. This session will also address the role of the public sector in these initiatives and also the special needs of the most vulnerable groups. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the key programs and activities required for protection and promotion of the refugees and migrants’ health 
• Make the distinction between health promotion and health protection, as well as identify the key attributes and scopes of each.
• Learn about the importance of the interplay and intersection of these two concepts in establishing solid policy frameworks and responses to address the COVID-19 pandemic while also taking into account other physical and mental health concerns.

The health of refugees and migrants is important from a human rights, public health and socioeconomic development perspective as well as for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Availability of quality data and research is fundamental for this purpose, and this session will address these two important subjects. 

Data availability and integration of such data into national health information systems (HIS) are crucial for policy planning and implementation of refugee- and migrant-sensitive policies and intervention programmes. However, currently data collected on refugees and migrants are more focused on infectious diseases and are rarely well integrated into routine HIS. The first part of this session will address the barriers in the integration of data on refugees and migrants’ health into the national health systems. The second part of the session will address the obstacles and opportunities for conducting quality research on the arena of refugees and migrants’ health in the region. Among the challenges, the followings will be discussed: institutional capacities, funds, critical mass of researchers and the operational constrains. The session will also touch upon the ethical considerations of research in this field. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the importance of quality data on health of refugees and migrants’ policy making, planning and operations 
• Discuss the challenges and opportunities to integrate data on the health of refugees and migrant into national health information systems 
• Identify the obstacles and opportunities for conducting quality research on the arena of refugees and migrants’ health in the region

This session will include presentations following a panel discussion including key actors including UN agencies (WHO, IOM, UNHCR and UNRWA), INGO and ministries of health in the region on their mission and their role in achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and health-related SDGs. 

Learning objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Learn about the mission and responsibilities of key actors in the field of refugees and migrants’ health in EMR
• Learn about the best practices and operational challenges in implemeing the GCM, GCR and GAP
• Discuss how the capacities of the international organzaiton can be aligned and harmonized with the national health sysetms in the regional countires