Ensuring the integration of refugees and migrants in immunization policies, planning and service delivery globally

Abstract

The third report of the Global Evidence review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series “Ensuring the integration of refugees and migrants in immunization policies, planning and service delivery globally” provides an overview of existing policies on inclusion of refugees and migrants in vaccine national plans and their implementation across countries and regions globally. The report identifies specific and unique barriers that refugees and migrants may face in accessing vaccines. These include administrative and policy barriers; individual-level barriers, including trust, cultural, religious, social norms and beliefs; logistic barriers such as availability and accessibility of vaccinations; information and communication barriers; and financial barriers. Full inclusion of refugees and migrants in global and national immunization plans and vaccinations is essential to making progress towards universal health coverage. To support countries fully integrate refugees and migrants into national immunization plans, and increase access to routine vaccines, the report provides key areas for policy consideration: ensuring universal and equitable access to vaccines for all refugees and migrants regardless of migrant status, age and gender; strengthening health systems to provide catch-up vaccination in mobile populations across the life-course; and strengthen data collection to monitor immunization coverage and service delivery gaps in refugee and migrant populations through financial support for national data collection and analysis.