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Refugees in the time of COVID-19

In an article for Jurist, Nafees Ahmad, “a Ph.D in International Refugee Law and Senior Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at South Asian University” discusses the disproportionate and unjust impact the novel coronavirus has had on refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants and stateless persons - whom he refers to collectively as RAMS. Medically, implications for RAMS are dismal enough. However, COVID-19 has had widespread impact socially, politically, and economically as well. Dr. Ahmad also addresses how these shifts in how countries treat their citizens and react to other nations has been detrimental to RAMS.


First to note is COVID-19 itself. Having caused more than 20% of the global population to exist in a state of lockdown, it has dramatically disrupted daily life. Xenophobia could not find itself a better partner; racial discrimination is common in refugee camps. Border closures around the globe and additional travel restrictions have made it increasingly difficult for RAMS to attain their destinations. As Dr. Ahmad puts it: “[these closures amount] to the deprivation of the right to asylum in the name of ‘risk related to the spread of COVID-19’”. In refugee camps, additional issues may arise in the form of:

  • Increased fear due to mixed messaging. Government announcements and detainments of individuals has raised tensions in camps as people try to socially distance themselves while also worrying about having access to basic necessities such as water and medicine.

    • Not only are refugees an “ultra-vulnerable population,” but social distancing has essentially become a privilege of the socio-economically stable; those with flexibility in their work, etc.

  • Limited information. Not only does having mixed messaging arouse fears in camps, but limited access to information can impact everything from how refugees try and stay healthy to their decisions about where to continue their migration.

  • Camp sanitation. Close proximity forced in refugee camps as well as lower levels of hygiene and sanitation provide a breeding ground for diseases such as COVID-19. Dr. Ahmad notes that “These camps [in Bangladesh] area already confronting many skin and respiratory diseases” - some of which may, as he puts it, “convert” into COVID infections but in any case, if compounded by a separate COVID infection, would likely make the disease more lethal.


Understanding COVID-19 and how it affects refugees living in camps across the world as they wait for transit elsewhere is only one facet of the issue. Various treaties and constitutions from WHO, the UN, ICESCR, and others name universal access to equitable healthcare services as a fundamental human right. It is otherwise important to note how recently arrived RAMS are getting access to healthcare services. Many non-citizens struggle with maneuvering their local healthcare systems if recently arrived, and may be faced with challenges in receiving care even if infected. One of the leaders in addressing this issue is Portugal. The country has provided “provisional citizenship rights to all refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants with pending applications for residency certificates to facilitate their access to healthcare”. As other countries look to contain the outbreak and the consequences it will have, it is time to reevaluate how RAMS are treated in the system. Immigration and healthcare policy have always been connected but in this instance are entirely intertwined. One should not be adjusted without conscious input from the other. Restricting healthcare workers to treating those who can access their services - namely, citizens - leverages a person’s status as a RAMS against what should be their right to healthcare. As Dr. Ahmad proposes in light of this, it is perhaps time to “redraft” healthcare workers as the border security for a “welfare state”. A state in which all people are welcomed and cared for equally.


For more information on the CDC’s current screening guidelines click here

For more information on refugees from the DRC and their circumstances pre-COVID click here

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