Migration, Ethnicity, and Health Inequality

Abstract

The UCL Lancet Commission (2018) calls migration the defining issue of our times, essential to growing economies and an integral part of the sociocultural fabric of our societies. It is imperative to understand why this is the case, how migration health has evolved and where we are headed. Despite the positive impacts of migration globally, with international labor workers contributing to economies worldwide, migrants often face challenges that threaten basic human rights, including the right to health. Global commitments to the sustainable development goals, universal health coverage, equity in health, and international agreements aim to improve the responses to migration, however global health policies are still not migrant inclusive. With rising populism and xenophobic rhetoric in many countries, societies ought to be engaged effectively to counter misinformed narratives; harmful migration policies should be discouraged and provision of universal access to health care ensured. Many of the gaps in research, policy, and practice remain unmet and as migration health evolves, this ought to be bridged through changes in policy and practice. Global academic institutions, civil society, UN agencies, and governments must collaborate to address the principles of intersectionality in research and to hold stakeholders accountable by investigating and countering myths about migration on and for health. Radical action is crucial to transform evidence at local, regional, and global levels, to contribute to improving health and preventing morbidity and mortality for migrants and nationals, and to strive towards leaving no one behind.