PFMH Action Hub on COVID-19 and Displacement
An initiative of the Program on Forced Migration and Health
Action Hub on COVID-19 and Displacement
Responding to the need for credible public health information to guide the humanitarian response during the COVID-19 pandemic, PFMH has received support from Open Society Foundations and Unbound Philanthropy to develop a knowledge and action hub that equips policy-makers, advocates, humanitarian actors and affected communities with the public health information, evidence and resources they need to effectively respond to COVID-19 and protect vulnerable populations. The PFMH Action Hub on COVID-19 and Displacement involves the mobilization of public health professionals to provide targeted advice and direct stakeholders to relevant information sources, the publication of high-impact knowledge briefs to apply past lessons to the current pandemic, technical assistance and support for local researchers, and the collation of clear and concise information about the pandemic and its impact on displaced populations. As part of this effort, PFMH has produced a digest of relevant news media since March 2020, providing nearly 600 subscribers, including donors, NGOs, governments, and UN agencies, with timely information on COVID-19 and its impact on displaced populations.
Human Mobility and Human Rights in the COVID-19 Pandemic - Revisiting the 14 Principles of Protection for Migrants, Refugees, and Other Displaced Persons
Building upon the 14 Principles – which set out how international law should protect migrants, refugees, and other displaced persons during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been endorsed by more than 1,000 scholars worldwide – a group of international law scholars from PFMH, the Zolberg Institute of the New School, and Cornell University have collaborated to create a series of short essays in the Cornell International Law Journal looking at a set of pressing legal and policy issues relevant to this and future pandemics and the rights of migrants under international law.
From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action: How Can Mobility Systems in sub-Saharan Africa Adapt to the Public Health Challenges of COVID-19?
A policy brief written by PFMH’s Director Monette Zard and Dr. Ling San Lau, and Migration Policy Institute’s Kate Hooper, examines the different strategies employed by governments in sub-Saharan Africa during the first year of the pandemic, and the limitations of unilateral action. The policy brief offers recommendations on how states and the international community can work together to restart migration and mobility and, looking forward, build capacity to respond to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies. Read the full brief here.
Leave No One Behind: Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccines for Refugee and Displaced Populations
PFMH faculty joined other leading public health experts to publish a commentary in Nature Medicine, emphasizing the need to ensure equitable and inclusive COVID-19 vaccine access for refugee and displaced populations globally. Among many recommendations, researchers from PFMH, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, American University of Beirut, Universidad de los Andes, and the School of Nursing and Health Studies at Georgetown University discuss how addressing health inequities and engaging with local communities are essential strategies for an effective global vaccination rollout. The full commentary can be read here.
Protecting Asylum in the United States: New Public Health Recommendations for Processing Families, Children and Adults Seeking Asylum or Other Protection at the Border
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, PFMH has been working with public health, legal, and medical experts to develop guidance to maintain access to asylum while protecting public health in the US. PFMH, alongside other public health experts, recently issued recommendations for public health measures that can be applied at the border to safely process asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A press release on the new recommendations can be found here.
COVID-19 and Migration: Understanding the Pandemic and Human Mobility
Migration and human mobility have been impacted dramatically by COVID-19. In November 2020, one of the first edited volumes on COVID-19 and migration was published, bringing together experts to explore the complex intersection of mobility and the pandemic. PFMH Director Monette Zard and Senior Program Officer Dr. Ling San Lau contributed a chapter considering both the challenges and opportunities COVID-19 presents to the future of mobility in a post-pandemic world. More information about the book can be found here. A brief video introduction to the chapter "The Future of Mobility in a Post-Pandemic World: Forced Migration and Health" can be viewed here.
Preventing and Mitigating Indirect Health Impacts of COVID-19 on Displaced Populations in Humanitarian Settings
As part of a research consortium contributing to the program on “Building the Evidence on Protracted Forced Displacement,” supported by the World Bank Group, UK Aid, and UNHCR, PFMH and partners have produced a series of knowledge briefs examining the intersection of COVID-19, forced displacement, and health. The first brief, which highlights lessons from past epidemics, novel approaches, and resources to prevent and mitigate indirect health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on displaced populations, was recently released.
PFMH, alongside the Zolberg Institute of the New School and Cornell University, convened a group of international experts to produce a set of principles to inform and guide state action, to assist international organizations, and provide a basis for advocacy and education. The Principles have been signed by over 1000 scholars and are currently available in five languages.
To listen to a discussion of the Principles with PFMH Director Monette Zard, click here.
The Principles have been cited by the UN Secretary General’s policy brief on COVID-19 and People on the Move and featured in the New Humanitarian and NewsWise.
The Principles were recently published in the International Journal of Refugee Law.
Public Health Voices
Amicus Brief from Doctors of the World, Epidemiologists, and Public Health and Medical Experts on Title 42 Litigation
Within days of the CDC's April 1, 2022 announcement terminating the Title 42 order that allows for the rapid expulsion and denial of asylum seekers at U.S. borders, more than 20 states sued the Biden administration to keep Title 42 in effect. In response, more than 50 public health and medical experts, including many Columbia University faculty, have signed an amicus brief in support of terminating Title 42, stating, in part, "Title 42 is not an effective public health mechanism... the CDC can protect both public health and the rights of asylum seekers." Read the full brief here.
Epidemiologists and Public Health Experts Reiterate Urgent Call to End Title 42
One year into the Biden administration and two years after the onset of COVID-19, epidemiologists, physicians, and public health experts assembled by PFMH reiterated the urgent call to end the scientifically-baseless Title 42 policy that illegally and inhumanely expels asylum seekers at the southern U.S. border without due process.
PFMH spearheaded a letter, signed by 40 senior U.S. public health and medical experts, sent to the Biden administration and the CDC condemning its scientifically baseless and politically motivated Title 42 expulsion policy, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to wield to block and expel asylum seekers to life-threatening dangers under the guise of protecting public health. The letter calls on the U.S. government to adopt measures that are based on sound science and public health practice and demands a clear timeline for the revocation of the CDC order, robust data systems with public results, and a strong, external monitoring component to ensure the protection of the rights of asylum seekers moving forward.
July 2021 Letter to HHS Secretary Becerra and CDC Director Walensky on the Title 42 Order
In July 2021, PFMH and public health leaders sent a letter to HHS and CDC calling for the reversal of the Title 42 expulsion order issued in March 2020 and repeatedly extended. The order exploits the COVID-19 pandemic to block asylum seekers and others seeking protection at the U.S. border. The July 2021 letter, cited by CNN, details how the Biden administration’s proposed changes to the order would unethically exclude single adults from seeking asylum and continue to separate children from non-parent caregivers. The letter continues PFMH efforts to inform border policies grounded in public health principles and evidence, including earlier letters about Title 42 in August 2020 and January 2021.
Letter to Acting HHS Secretary Cochran and CDC Director Walensky
In tandem with previous letters, nearly 100 public health experts sent a letter to the Biden Administration, urging for the rescission of the order that has authorized border expulsions, a discriminatory policy with that poses a significant threat to public health and has no scientific basis. The letter references a set of recommendations for an alternative approach, put together by a coalition of public health experts and actors. This letter was also cited by CBS News.
PFMH, alongside leading epidemiologists and public health experts, issued recommendations on public health measures that could be enacted at borders in order to protect public health and the lives of people seeking asylum. The recommendations follow letters signed by public health experts, which urge the revocation of policies that expel children, families and adults seeking asylum. The full recommendations can be found here. A press release on the recommendations can be found here.
More than 170 U.S. public health and medical professionals sent a letter to the Trump Administration opposing the July 9th proposed rule on asylum to explain why the rule will not protect the public and instead undermine public health. PFMH and Human Rights First developed a primer on the public health dimensions of the July 9th proposed rule. The letter was cited by CBS News.
Letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert R. Redfield on the March 20th CDC Order
The letter, signed by more than 40 senior U.S. public health and medical experts, opposed the now indefinite March 20th CDC order that used COVID-19 to effectively ban asylum seekers seeking entry to the U.S. The letter was cited by CNN, ABC News, and the Wall Street Journal.
Research
From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action: How Can Mobility Systems in sub-Saharan Africa Adapt to the Public Health Challenges of COVID-19?
A policy brief written by PFMH’s Director Monette Zard and Dr. Ling San Lau, and Migration Policy Institute’s Kate Hooper, examines the different strategies employed by governments in sub-Saharan Africa during the first year of the pandemic, and the limitations of unilateral action. The policy brief offers recommendations on how states and the international community can work together to restart migration and mobility and, looking forward, build capacity to respond to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies. Read the full brief here.
COVID-19, Forced Displacement, and Health – Research from the PFMH-led Consortium on Big Questions in Forced Displacement and Health
PFMH leads a research consortium with the American University of Beirut, Brandeis University, Georgetown University, and Universidad de los Andes to contribute to the knowledge on health systems in protracted displacement settings. As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, PFMH and partners have produced a series of knowledge briefs addressing the indirect health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on displaced populations, family violence prevention in the context of COVID-19 and forced displacement, and protecting the health workforce while integrating displaced healthcare workers during the pandemic. Stay tuned for future releases.
Protecting Asylum in the United States
PFMH has worked alongside legal, humanitarian, medical, and public health experts to develop guidance and promote action to balance maintaining access to asylum with public health considerations. PFMH and partners have generated a series of documents outlining the current evidence:
More than 170 US public health and medical professionals signed a letter to the Trump Administration regarding the July 9th proposed rule. Read the letter here.
PFMH and Human Rights First developed a primer on the public health aspects of the July 9th rule. Read the primer here.
More than 40 public health experts signed a letter to the Trump Administration regarding the March 20th CDC Order. Read the letter here.
PFMH and partners developed recommendations which could be applied at the US Southern Border. Read the full guidance document here.
To watch a July 2020 webinar on the public health aspects of the Trump’s Administration July 9th proposed rule, click here.
Commentary in Nature Medicine: COVID-19 in Humanitarian Settings and Lessons Learned from Past Epidemics
In a commentary published in Nature Medicine, PFMH faculty and staff reflect on lessons learned from past epidemics to inform the COVID-19 pandemic response in humanitarian settings. They write, “The rapid global spread of a novel coronavirus has taught us that we are all interconnected in terms of our health and well-being. Displaced populations, including refugees and migrants, are often the first to be stigmatized and unjustly blamed for the spread of disease, yet they are also among the most vulnerable people during a pandemic—to both the virus itself and the measures enacted to control it [….] In the age of COVID-19, protecting the most vulnerable among us is not just a moral imperative but an urgent public health objective: the health of one is the health of all.” Read the full commentary here.
Comment in the Lancet: Centring sexual and reproductive health and justice in the global COVID-19 response
PFMH faculty Drs. Goleen Samari, Sara Casey, and Rachel Moresky joined their colleagues in the Department of Population and Family Health in this comment published in the Lancet. The authors highlight the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic intersects with existing sexual and reproductive health and justice inequities, drawing on lessons learned from past epidemics and humanitarian settings to inform the current response. For more information about this comment in the Lancet, please see the press release here.
Concept Paper in AEM Education and Training: COVID‐19 Pandemic Prompts a Paradigm Shift in Global Emergency Medicine: Multidirectional Education and Remote Collaboration
Dr. Rachel T. Moresky, Director of Columbia University’s Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship and sidHARTe - Strengthening Emergency System, coauthors this concept paper with several other colleagues to highlight best practices in global emergency medicine (GEM) training, with a focus on multidirectional education and remote collaboration in the setting of COVID-19. This work highlights pertinent thematic areas for continued implementation of impactful GEM programming within the confines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full concept paper here.
Media
It’s Time For A Biden Plan To Help Vaccinate The World Against COVID—And End This Pandemic For Good. Here’s What It Should Include
Blog post written by PFMH and Columbia Emergency Medicine Faculty Dr. Rachel Moresky, along with Amir Hassan and Peter Suwondo. Authors discuss how the Biden Administration could support global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 4 June 2021. Read the full blog post here.
The COVID-19 Blame Game Threatens Us All
Commentary written by PFMH Director Professor Monette Zard and Open Society Foundations Director of International Migration Initiative Gregory Maniatis published in Project Syndicate. 6 March 2020. Read the full commentary here.
Making America Sick Again: How Anti-Immigrant Measures Will Worsen the Coronavirus Pandemic
Opinion piece written by PFMH faculty Dr. Goleen Samari published in the New York Daily News. 30 March 2020. Read the full piece here.
What COVID-19 Means for Immigrants’ Reproductive Health
Op-Ed piece written by PFMH faculty Dr. Goleen Samari and Dr. Sheila Desai of the Guttmacher Institute published in Colorlines. 26 June 2020. Read the full op-ed here.
Virus Puts Global Health Inequality in the Spotlight
The World Today of Australian ABC Radio News and Current Affairs spoke with PFMH faculty Dr. Patrick Kachur. 16 July 2020. Listen to the full interview here.
Also of Interest
PFMH faculty have actively engaged in the broader discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Some of their work includes:
"Institutional Failures in COVID-19" written by Dr. Les Roberts for Think Global Health (18 November 2020).
"Loss for everyone as CDC's standing erodes" written by Dr. Les Roberts for The Hill (17 October 2020).
“‘Long-haul’ covid-19 complications are real. I faced similar problems after surviving Ebola” written by Dr. Craig Spencer for The Washington Post (19 September 2020).
“Epidemiologist: New Yorkers’ coronavirus response sets an example for the world (Commentary)” written by Dr. Les Roberts for Syracuse.com (29 April 2020).
"Pandemics in Crisis-Affected Settings: Ensuring Women & Girls Are Not Forgotten" written by Alina Potts for the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security & Global Women’s Institute (1 April 2020).
“This Doctor Was Vilified After Contracting Ebola. Now He Sees History Repeating Itself With Coronavirus” featuring Dr. Craig Spencer for TIME (4 February 2020).
See more media coverage
For more media coverage, please visit the Program on Forced Migration and Health website.
Webinars
COVID-19 & Refugee Health Care Workers in Forced Displacement Settings: Challenges and Opportunities
The Program on Forced Migration and Health co-hosted a virtual event alongside Physicians for Human Rights discussing the impact COVID-19 has had on refugee health care workers. Dr. Rachel T. Moresky, Director of sidHARTe - Strengthening Emergency Systems & Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Programs at Columbia University Population and Family Health & Emergency Medicine, moderated the panel and was joined by Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema, Head of the Health Unit of the International Rescue Committee; Dr. Ranit Mishori, Senior Medical Advisor for Physicians for Human Rights; and Dr. Ihlas Altıncı, Syrian Family Physician. The webinar was the official launch of a knowledge brief produced as part of "Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement and Health," a project supported by the World Bank, UNHCR, and UKAid. An introduction to the brief was provided by PFMH's Dr. Nour Audi and Katherine McCann.
How Can Mobility Systems in sub-Saharan Africa Meet the Public Health Challenges Posed by COVID-19?
PFMH Director Monette Zard moderated a panel hosting Dr. Ling San Lau of PFMH & CPC Learning Network, Kate Hooper of the Migration Policy Institute, Professor Joseph Teye from the Center of Migration Studies at the University of Ghana, and Michela Martini from IOM to discuss adaptations of mobility systems in sub-Saharan Africa, as these systems have been navigated through challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation occurred in tandem with the launch of a policy brief by PFMH and MPI (June 2021).
One Year On: Human Mobility and Human Rights in the COVID-19 Pandemic
The “One Year On” symposium is a continuation of PFMH’s work to produce a set of principles on the protection of human mobility and human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. PFMH, alongside the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School and the Migration and Human Rights Program at Cornell Law School, convened a symposium to mark the one year anniversary of the publication of the 14 Principles of Protection for Migrants, Refugees and Other Displaced Persons. The symposium explored how migrants, including refugees, have been particularly impacted by the pandemic and the new and emerging ways in which the human mobility and human rights of these populations are likely to be challenged moving forward.
Family Violence Prevention in the Context of COVID-19 and Forced Displacement
Faculty from Universidad de los Andes and PFMH, Drs. Arturo Harker Roa and Goleen Samari, were joined by Emmanuel Neisa of Clickarte (Bogotá, Colombia), Tina Musuya of CEDOVIP (Kampala, Uganda), Diana Abou Abbas of Marsa Sexual Health Center (Beirut, Lebanon), and Leloba Pahl of UNHCR (Budapest, Hungary) for this webinar, marking the launch of a second World Bank, UNHCR, & UKAid supported knowledge brief. This event and the corresponding knowledge brief was produced as a part of the ongoing "Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement and Health" project with the World Bank, UNHCR, & UKAid (May 2021).
Global COVID-19 Prevention and Response: Realities of Operations in Low-Resource Health Settings
PFMH Faculty Member and Director of sidHARTe - Strengthening Emergency Systems & Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Programs at Columbia University Population and Family Health & Emergency Medicine Rachel T. Moresky, moderates this panel to discuss varying responses to COVID-19 in lower-resource settings. Panelists included Amanda McClelland from Resolve to Save Lives, Dr. Martin Howell Friede from WHO, and Dr. Marcela Allheimen from MSF Brazil (April 2021).
COVID-19 Exposed Hegemony and Holes in Global Health Governance
PFMH Faculty Member and Director of sidHARTe - Strengthening Emergency Systems & Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Programs at Columbia University Population and Family Health & Emergency Medicine Rachel T. Moresky, moderates this panel to discuss the global impact and response to COVID-19, with a keen focus on global health governance. Panelists included Drs. Paul Spiegel, Qudsia Huda, and Jeanine Condo, as well as Kate Elder (April 2021).
Disease Surveillance and Refugees, Migrants, and other Marginalized Groups
As part of a webinar series hosted by the Committee on Forced Migration, an initiative of the Columbia Global Centers, PFMH Director Monette Zard moderated a discussion with Mesfin Teklu Tessema, Petra Molnar, and Joseph Amon on the promise and challenges of public health surveillance technologies for refugees, migrants, and other marginalized groups during the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2020).
Preventing and Mitigating Indirect Health Impacts of COVID-19 on Displaced Populations in Humanitarian Settings
PFMH faculty Dr. Patrick Kachur and Dr. Les Roberts were joined by Ola Al Tebawi of the International Rescue Committee and Muhammad Amad of the National Humanitarian Network and Institute for Development and Empowerment Axis (IDEA) for this webinar co-hosted by PFMH and ICVA. The webinar was the official launch of a knowledge brief produced as part of "Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement and Health," a project supported by the World Bank, UNHCR, and UKAid (November 2020).
COVID-19, Migration and Human Rights: Impact and Solutions
PFMH Director Professor Monette Zard presents on this expert panel hosted by the Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights, alongside the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and panelists from UNHCR, the UN Human Rights Office, Médecins Sans Frontières and Asociación Salto Ángel (July 2020).
Weaponizing Public Health to End Asylum in the U.S.
Hosted by PFMH and moderated by Professor Monette Zard, this webinar reviews public health aspects of the Trump Administration’s July 9th proposed rule with experts from Human Rights First, Johns Hopkins University, Physicians for Human Rights, and Global Response Management (July 2020).
Prevention Measures and Management of COVID-19 in Refugee Settings: Local and Global Perspectives
PFMH Faculty Professor Monette Zard and Dr. Goleen Samari and PFMH Senior Program Officer Dr. Ling San Lau join colleagues from the Columbia Global Centers Amman, UNHCR MENA, and the American University of Beirut to discuss the response to COVID-19 in refugee contexts, with particular attention to Jordan and Lebanon (April 2020).
Safeguarding Human Rights in the COVID-19 Tsunami
PFMH Director Monette Zard moderates this webinar on the crucial importance of human rights in the pandemic response, featuring Professor Goleen Samari, Ken Roth of Human Rights Watch, and Bruce Shapiro of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma (April 2020).
Before, During & After Flattening the Curve: Decreasing COVID-19 Transmission in Settings with Limited Health Resources
Drs. Rachel T. Moresky and Megan Coffee join several other colleagues in this two-part panel event to discuss the various phases of COVID-19 response in settings with limited health resources. Speakers touch on access to care and equity of care associated with COVID-19 in these settings, as well. The talk is collectively sponsored by the PFMH, the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, and sidHARTe - Strengthening Emergency Systems.
Stay Informed
COVID-19 and Migration Digest
Throughout 2020, PFMH produced a digest of relevant news media regarding migration and COVID-19. Although the digest is no longer produced weekly, archived digests are available here.
PFMH COVID-19 Blog
PFMH has launched a blog to publish faculty, student, and alumni perspectives on COVID-19. Read the blog here.
About the Action Hub on COVID-19 and Displacement
- The Program on Forced Migration and Health: The Action Hub on COVID-19 and Displacement is a project of the Columbia University Program on Forced Migration and Health, part of the Mailman School of Public Health’s Department of Population and Family Health. Our faculty have decades of experience working with displaced populations in fragile and conflict-affected settings and have addressed previous epidemics, including Ebola, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). They have responded to major conflicts and humanitarian crises globally since 1998, including the Rwandan genocide, the 2003-2011 Iraq war and the conflict in Syria. Our interdisciplinary team includes physicians, lawyers, epidemiologists and demographers, with expertise spanning advocacy, law, medicine and public health.
- COVID-19 and Displacement Hub Funders: We are grateful for our donors, Open Society Foundations and Unbound Philanthropy, who have supported the creation of the Action Hub on COVID-19 and Displacement.
- Contact Us: Please contact the Program on Forced Migration and Health with any queries by email.