Health


The health of refugees and other displaced people is a priority for UNHCR.

Health is interlinked with protection and human rights. UNHCR is mandated to protect the rights of refugees and other persons of concern. Refugees should enjoy access to health services equivalent to that of the host population (Article 23, Refugee Convention of 1951). Under international law, everyone has the right to the highest standards of physical and mental health (Article 12, International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, 1966).

UNHCR works closely with partners who implement health programmes in a range of challenging settings. The refugee agency plays a planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation role. Health and nutrition programmes should be delivered within a public health and community development framework, with an emphasis on primary and preventive health care. Beneficiaries should be involved in the planning, monitoring and delivery of service. The overall objective of the health and nutrition programmes is to minimise avoidable mortality and morbidity. Planning of interventions should be based on an assessment of needs, risks and vulnerabilities, which should be conducted as part of an inter-agency assessment by a competent health and nutrition partner and/or UNHCR staff.

In refugee situations in developing countries, the top five killers of children under the age of five are malaria, malnutrition, measles, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections. In an emergency, the priorities are measles immunisation, nutritional support, control of communicable diseases and epidemics, implementation of the minimum initial services package for reproductive health, and public health surveillance. As the situation stabilises these services should be enlarged to include expanded control of communicable diseases (immunisation, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS programmes), comprehensive reproductive health services, chronic disease management and mental health support. (See: refugee public health priorities). Management of essential drugs is an important aspect of health services provision.

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