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Public Health
Health Care and the Displaced
The health of refugees and other forcibly displaced people is a priority for UNHCR. The 1951 Refugee Convention states that refugees should enjoy access to health services equivalent to that of the host population, while everyone has the right under international law to the highest standards of physical and mental health.
UNHCR works closely with partner organizations who implement health programmes in a range of challenging settings. We play a planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation role. Health and nutrition programmes are delivered within a public health and community development framework, with an emphasis on primary and preventive health care. The objective of these programmes is to minimize mortality and morbidity.
The refugee agency plans its health care interventions based on needs, risks and vulnerabilities, which are determined as part of an inter-agency assessment by a competent health and nutrition partner and/or UNHCR staff.
Among forcibly displaced populations in developing countries, the top five killers of children under the age of five are malaria, malnutrition, measles, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections. The priorities for UNHCR and its partners at the start of an emergency are measles immunization, nutritional support, control of communicable diseases and epidemics, implementation of the reproduction health measures and public health surveillance. As the situation stabilizes these services are enlarged.
If you have any questions, please contact us at E-mail Health.
Health Information System
Health Information Systems (HIS) lay the foundation for public health decision-making.
Malaria Prevention and Control
Malaria remains an important cause of illness and death among displaced populations.
Avian and Human Influenza
The threat posed by an avian and human influenza pandemic to people of concern.
Safe Motherhood Initiatives
Safe motherhood initiatives are important to improve the health of displaced women.
Health Evaluation Initiatives
Playing a key role in the Inter-Agency Health Evaluations in Complex Emergencies initiative.
- Chad - A Country in Crisis. A follow-up report of the Interagency Health and Nutrition Evaluation (IHE)
- Inter-agency health evaluation: Humanitarian oasis in a parched health sector: Refugees and host populations in Eastern and Southern Chad, conducted February 2006 (Final draft)
- Inter-agency health evaluation: Liberia (final report)
- Inter-agency evaluation: Burundi - health and nutrition in the humanitarian context, 21 March to 29 April 2005
- Refugee health in Zambia: Joint UNHCR-WHO evaluation of health and health programmes in refugee camps in Zambia
Further Reading on Health and Nutrition
Resources for Partnerships in Health and Nutrition.
- UNHCR's Guiding Principles and Strategic Plans for HIV and AIDS, Malaria Control, Nutrition and Food Security, Reproductive Health, Water and Sanitation, 2008 - 2012 (complete publication)
- UNHCR's Guiding Principles and Strategic Plans 2008 - 2012: Appendix: Cross-Reference of Indicators
- Guiding Principles and Strategic Plans 2008-2012
- UNHCR's Strategic Plan for Water and Sanitation 2008 - 2012
- UNHCR's Strategic Plan for Reproductive Health 2008 - 2012