Forced Migration and Global Responsibility for Health Comment on "Defining and Acting on Global Health: The Case of Japan and the Refugee Crisis".

Kayvan Bozorgmehr,Oliver Razum

doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2016.146

Abstract

Forced migration has become a world-wide phenomenon in the past century, affecting increasing numbers of countries and people. It entails important challenges from a global health perspective. Leppold et al have critically discussed the Japanese interpretation of global responsibility for health in the context of forced migration. This commentary complements their analysis by outlining three priority areas of global health responsibility for European Union (EU) countries. We highlight important stages of the migration phases related to forced migration and propose three arguments. First, the chronic neglect of the large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the discourses on the "refugee crisis" needs to be corrected in order to develop sustainable solutions with a framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Second, protection gaps in the global system of protection need to be effectively closed to resolve conflicts with border management and normative global health frameworks. Third, effective policies need to be developed and implemented to meet the health and humanitarian needs of forced migrants; at the same time, the solidarity crisis within the EU needs to be overcome. These stakes are high. EU countries, being committed to global health, should urgently address these areas.

Highlights

Forced migration refers to a migratory movement in which an element of coercion exists, including threats to life and livelihood arising from natural or man-made causes.[1]
Nine in every 1000 inhabitants of the world were forcibly displaced in 2015.2 The recent peak in forced displacement has been labelled as a “refugee crisis,” a term defining the victims as the problem, instead of problematizing the underlying causes of displacement
The true crisis is, as United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has put it, rather a crisis of solidarity.[2]. It is not an acute but a chronic crisis: the number of displaced persons has already been at very high levels around 6 to 7 per 1000 world population between 1996 and 2013.2 Despite its longlasting character and its obvious implications for population health, forced migration has not been explicitly categorised as a global health issue.[3]

Summary

Introduction

Forced migration refers to a migratory movement (between or within a country) in which an element of coercion exists, including threats to life and livelihood arising from natural or man-made causes.[1].

Results

Conclusion