Health and Internal Displacement
At least in conflict-affected populations, it appears that IDPs tend to experience far higher levels of mortality and morbidity than non-IDPs, including those living as refugees outside the country. This holds true across many disease areas - including communicable and non-communicable diseases, mental health and sexual, reproductive and maternal health - raising important questions about the role of internal displacement for medicine in those fields and for public health more generally.
Research on the health-related consequences of internal displacements tends to be dispersed across a wide range of different fields of medical and public health research, making general findings relatively inaccessible to practitioners and policymakers in this space. This project seeks to connect medical and health researchers and practitioners with an interest in IDP populations across different regions and specialisations. At the same time, it connects these debates with research and developments in the parallel field of protection-related research. The project is presently seeking to expand beyond its initial focus on IDP health in conflict-affected populations to also examine the health dynamics in populations displaced in the context of disasters and climate change impacts. The project connects with the ‘IDRP’ and ‘Supporting Regional IDP Research Networks’.
Key publications and other outputs
- B. Roberts and D.J. Cantor (eds), “Health and Internal Displacement” Series (2022) Journal of Migration and Health
- B. Roberts, W. Ekezie, K. Jobanputra, J. Smith, S. Ellithy, D.J. Cantor, N. Singh and P. Patel, ‘Health Overseas Development Aid for Internally Displaced Persons’ (2022) 5 Journal of Migration and Health 100090
- D.J. Cantor, J. Swartz, B. Roberts, A. Abbara, A. Ager, Z.A. Bhutta, K. Blanchet, D. Madoro Bunte, J.C. Chukwuorji, N. Daoud, W. Ekezie, C. Jimenez-Damary, K. Jobanputra, N. Makhashvili, D. Rayes, M.H. Restrepo-Espinosa, A.J. Rodriguez-Morales, B. Salami and J. Smith, ‘Understanding the Health Needs of Internally Displaced Persons: A Scoping Review’ (2021) 4 Journal of Migration and Health 100071
- IDRP/AMS, Policy Brief: Health and Internal Displacement (for UNSG High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, 2021)
- AMS/IDRP, “Internal Displacement and Health” (Workshop Report, 2021)
Key institutional activities
- Launched Health and Internal Displacement Network (created 2021)
- HIDN 2nd public seminar series on “Health and Internal Displacement” (2022)
- HIDN 1st public seminar series on “Health and Internal Displacement” (2021)
- IDRP/AMS Expert Workshop on ‘Framing IDP Health Research within Internal Displacement Trends’ (online, 2021)
- Launched research collaboration with UK Academy of Medical Sciences (2020)