The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new report " Health system strengthening interventions to improve the health of displaced and migrant populations in the context of climate change ," the seventh in the Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) series. This landmark publication draws attention to the growing intersection of climate change, migration, and health, calling for urgent action to ensure health systems are prepared to meet the health needs of climate-affected migrant and displaced populations.
Launched during the Global Conference on Climate and Health in Brasília, an official pre-COP30 event co-hosted by the Government of Brazil, WHO, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the report offers a timely, evidence-based contribution to support policy-makers at this critical intersection.
Climate change as a risk multiplier
Climate change drives displacement, worsens vulnerabilities, and places immense pressure on health systems. In 2023 alone, more than 20 million people were internally displaced by sudden-onset weather events. By 2050, over 216 million people could be forced to move within their countries due to climate-related impacts. As a risk multiplier, climate change intensifies extreme weather events, environmental degradation and disasters. It exacerbates food insecurity, facilitates the spread of vector-borne diseases and places additional strain on health systems, particularly in low-resource settings. Health systems must be prepared not only to respond to emergencies but to address the evolving, long-term health needs of migrant and displaced populations.
"Climate change is reshaping the drivers of migration and displacement, with serious consequences for health. To respond effectively, health systems must adapt, ensuring that migrant and displaced populations are not an afterthought, but integral to health system planning, delivery and resilience," said Dr Santino Severoni, Director of Health and Migration at WHO.
Global evidence: promising practices and persistent gaps
The report synthesizes evidence from 95 health system interventions implemented across all WHO regions, illustrating how governments, humanitarian actors and communities are responding to the health impacts of climate-related migration and displacement. Most interventions focused on service delivery, including emergency medical care, water and sanitation (WASH), and mental health services in climate-affected settings. However, long-term, anticipatory strategies remain scarce. Only six documented interventions included measures to mitigate climate change itself. Meanwhile, essential system components like health financing, data systems, and integration of displaced populations into national health plans are often overlooked.
"Climate-resilient health systems must also be migrant-inclusive. That means moving beyond reactive responses to deliver long-term, equitable care, and ensuring that climate-affected migrant and displaced communities are reflected in health policies, systems and services," said Dr Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Migration at WHO.
The way forward: key policy considerations
"To protect health in the face of climate change and mobility, we must design health systems that are both resilient and inclusive. That means embedding migrant and displaced populations in every stage of health policy, from planning to implementation," added Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General of WHO's Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care.
The report outlines key policy considerations to strengthen health systems that are both inclusive of the health needs of migrant and displaced populations, as well as those of host communities, and are resilient in the face of climate change. These include:
- Meaningful inclusion: Involve migrant and displaced communities in health policy planning and service delivery to ensure responses are tailored, accessible and culturally appropriate.
- Bridging knowledge gaps: Promote interdisciplinary and implementation-focused research to inform sustainable and scalable health system interventions.
- Proactive, long-term strategies: Shift from reactive approaches to designing systems that anticipate and address future health impacts of climate-related migration and displacement.
- Whole-of-route approach: Embed essential functions, such as surveillance, emergency preparedness, health promotion and community engagement, into broader system strengthening efforts.
- Integrated public health functions: Integrate core capacities like surveillance, community engagement, and emergency preparedness into health systems.
- Coordinated governance and financing: Align migration, health and climate agendas through strengthened leadership, multisectoral coordination, sustainable financing and investment in health workforce capacit
The seventh report of the GEHM series was developed by WHO Health and Migration, in collaboration with WHO Environment, Climate Change and Health. The GEHM series provides policy-makers with evidence-based insights and policy considerations to address the health needs of refugees and migrants.
