New Lancet Commission debunks myths about public health impacts of migrants
Myths about migration and health – including that migrants are disease carriers and are a burden on services – are pervasive and harmful to individuals and society.
The normalisation of these myths has allowed governments to introduce hostile and restrictive policies in many countries around the world. These include the detention of migrants at US borders, and the denial of treatment to migrants in the UK’s NHS.
“Questioning the deservingness of migrants for health care on the basis of inaccurate beliefs supports practices of exclusion, harming the health of individuals, our society, and our economies”
These are some of the myths that have now been debunked by the new UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health. The commission lays out with new international data and analysis, the most common myths about migration and health are not supported by the available evidence and ignore the important contribution of migration to global economies.
Public health protection and cost savings are often used as reasons to restrict migrants’ access to health care, or to deny them entry. In 2018, there were more than one billion people on the move, a quarter of whom were migrants crossing international borders.
The Commission is the result of a two-year project led by 20 leading experts from 13 countries, and includes new data analysis, with two original research papers, and represents the most comprehensive review of the available evidence to date.
The report was launched on Saturday at the UN Intergovernmental Conference to adopt the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration in Marrakech.
“Populist discourse demonises the very same individuals who uphold economies and bolster social care and health services. Questioning the deservingness of migrants for health care on the basis of inaccurate beliefs supports practices of exclusion, harming the health of individuals, our society, and our economies,” says Commission Chair Professor Ibrahim Abubakar, UCL (UK).
He adds: “Migration is the defining issue of our time. How the world addresses human mobility will determine public health and social cohesion for decades ahead. Creating health systems that integrate migrant populations will benefit entire communities with better health access for all and positive gains for local populations. Failing to do so could be more expensive to national economies, health security, and global health than the modest investments required to protect migrants’ right to health, and ensure migrants can be productive members of society.”
The Lancet editor Dr Richard Horton adds: “In too many countries, the issue of migration is used to divide societies and advance a populist agenda. With one billion people on the move today, growing populations in many regions of the world, and the rising aspirations of a new generation of young people, migration is not going away. Migrants commonly contribute more to the economy than they cost, and how we shape their health and wellbeing today will impact our societies for generations to come. There is no more pressing issue in global health.”
