IOM works with partners to deliver on the promise of migration by creating conditions in which migrants and communities enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and well-being along migration pathways. IOM’s migration health work is cross-cutting and supports allIOM’s strategic objectives. 

1. By improving access to quality health care and provision of health services, IOM contributes to saving lives and protecting people on the move.  

   IOM addresses the health needs of migrants and displaced populations in humanitarian contexts andpublic health emergencies while maintaining a long-term focus on recovery, migrant-sensitive health systems and progress towards global goals, including universal health coverage.

   Interventions include cross-sectoral collaboration; provision of primary health-care services, including for communicable diseases; and administration of vaccinations for migrants, mobile populations and host communities.
    

2. By strengthening health systems and anticipating and mitigating health-related risks surrounding displacement, IOM supports durable solutions. 

   IOM integrates health activities throughout the migration cycle and delivers durable solutions to challenges stemming from climate change, conflict and other crisis situations, which can have catastrophic health consequences.

   IOM engages in rehabilitation/construction of health infrastructure; undertakes advocacy for policies that promote universal health coverage and inclusive contingency planning; and builds health system capacity to prevent, detect and respond to health threats, including by strengthening disease surveillance systems.
    

3. By promoting the health of migrants and mobile populations and strengthening migration health governance, IOM supports regular migration pathways. 

   IOM supports governments to meet commitments regarding universal health coverage and other development priorities and strengthens health system capacity in countries of origin and destination. The Organization’s migration health assessment and health promotion programming and health system strengthening and capacity-building activities are integral to expanding, enhancing and enabling regular migration pathways. 

   IOM ensures that migration is incorporated into health governance mechanisms and provides reliable health-related migration data to guide policy decisions. 

Global policy developments shape IOM’s work on migration health

Global policy frameworks shape IOM’s migration health work. For example, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages governments to integrate the health of migrants into national plans, policies and strategies across sectors.  

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration features migrant health as a cross-cutting priority. Objective 15 highlights the need to provide access to basic services to migrants, and to incorporate migrant health into national and local policy and planning.  

The World Health Organization Global action plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants 2019-2030 asserts health as an essential component of good migration governance and aims to address the health and well-being of migrants in an inclusive, comprehensive manner. It calls for international cooperation to deal effectively with the impact of migration and displacement on health. 

The Third Global Consultation on the Health of Migrants and Refugees, co-organized by IOM, WHO and UNHCR and hosted by Morocco in 2023, resulted in the Rabat Declaration, which further strengthens the commitment by Member States to recognize and act to address the health needs of migrants and displaced populations. IOM remains committed to supporting its Member States in their progress.