The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | WHO , IOM
Bi-Weekly Press Briefing Insufficient Access to COVID-19 Vaccines for Migrants IOM - WHO 17 December 2021
Ahead of International Migrants Day (December 18), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) urgently called on governments and health providers for better access to Covid-19 vaccines for migrants two years into the pandemic.
“Equitable access to health services remains insufficient, and stigma, discrimination against migrants widespread - as evidenced by the media reports following discovery of the Omicron variant”, said Jacqueline Weekers, Director of IOM’s Migration Health Division at today’s press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva.
“As I speak, millions of asylum seekers, forcibly displaced families and migrant workers are cut-off from reliable health coverage. Millions of migrants in irregular situations face arrest or deportation when seeking health care due to the absence of viable immigration authorities”, Ms Weekers added.
Vaccine hesitancy in migrant communities must be address with specific, tailored interventions. However, the majority of migrants, Ms Weekers stressed, do want access to Coiv-19 immunization but cannot get to them because of administrative, logistical, geographic, cultural, linguistic or financial barriers.
“According to IOM’s analysis of 180 countries, migrants in irregular situations cannot get the COVID-19 jab in at least 45 countries, now out of 46 access remains unclear”, said IOM’s Ms Weekers.
Prior to the pandemic, WHO and the World Bank noted more than half a billion people were pushed into extreme poverty because of out-of-pocket health costs.
“COVID-19 is likely to hold two decades of global progress towards universal health coverage”, assumed Ms Weekers. She added that “we are already witnessing concerning regression in our fights against other deadly diseases like tuberculosis, HIV and measles especially in marginalized and hard-to-reach communities.”
On the occasion of International Migrants Day, the World Health Organisation pointed out how many people on the move might fall between the cracks of health care systems worldwide.
“Today, one out of thirty people are migrants, one out of ninety-five are forcibly displaced. In other words, we are considering, we are concerned about roughly one billion people between migrants, refugees, irregular migrants and IDPs which may be failing out of the access to health systems”, said Santino Severoni, Director of WHO’s Health and Migration Program.
Health is a fundamental human right for everyone, stressed WHO’s Mr Severoni. “Despite we see, we foresee, the topic to be on top of the political agenda of all member states, still refugees, asylum seekers, state-less people, IDPs, migrants especially those in irregular conditions, tend to be excluded from the access to health systems due to lack of inclusive policies, barriers of the systems including languages, or issues related to availability of needed documentation or issues related to cover the costs for accessing those services.”
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flags flying.
- Medium-wide shot, inside the press conference room (B-128), showing the participants and a cameraman filming the press briefing.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jacqueline Weekers, Director of IOM’s Migration Health Division: “Equitable access to health services remains insufficient, and stigma, discrimination against migrants widespread - as evidenced by the media reports following discovery of the Omicron variant.”
- Close shot of the TV screen showing the press briefing broadcast on Zoom.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jacqueline Weekers, Director of IOM’s Migration Health Division: “As I speak, millions of asylum seekers, forcibly displaced families and migrant workers are cut-off from reliable health coverage. Millions of migrants in irregular situations face arrest or deportation when seeking health care due to the absence of viable immigration authorities.”
- Medium shot, journalists taking notes and a cameraman attending the press conference.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jacqueline Weekers, Director of IOM’s Migration Health Division: “According to IOM’s analysis of 180 countries, migrants in irregular situations cannot get the COVID-19 jab in at least 45 countries, now out of 46 access remains unclear.”
- Close shot of the TV screen showing a speaker and the presenter on the right, masked, listening to the speech.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Jacqueline Weekers, Director of IOM’s Migration Health Division: “COVID-19 is likely to hold two decades of global progress towards universal health coverage. We are already witnessing concerning regression in our fights against other deadly diseases like tuberculosis, HIV and measles especially in marginalized and hard-to-reach communities.”
- Medium shot, journalists, seated and masked attending the meeting.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Santino Severoni, Director of WHO’s Health and Migration Program: “Today, one out of thirty people are migrants, one out of ninety-five are forcibly displaced. In other words, we are considering, we are concerned about roughly one billion people between migrants, refugees, irregular migrants and IDPs which may be failing out of the access to health systems.”
- Close shot of participant.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Santino Severoni, Director of WHO’s Health and Migration Program: “Despite we see, we foresee, the topic to be on top of the political agenda of all member states, still refugees, asylum seekers, state-less people, IDPs, migrants especially those in irregular conditions, tend to be excluded from the access to health systems due to lack of inclusive policies, barriers of the systems including languages, or issues related to availability of needed documentation or issues related to cover the costs for accessing those services.”
- Close shot, journalists taking notes.
- Close shot, a participant attending the meeting.
- Close shot, a participant, masked, listening to the press briefing
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.