World Health Organization's eighth evidence review asks countries to build migrant health care into primary health care

5 November 2026

The World Health Organization has brought out Primary health care-oriented responses for migrants, refugees and displaced populations. It is the eighth report in the agency's Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration series, known by the short form GEHM. The review gathers the published evidence on what happens when care for people on the move is delivered through ordinary primary health care rather than through separate parallel services. It finds that such care becomes easier to reach, better joined up and more continuous, and that the gains are largest where services are culturally appropriate and the communities concerned take part in running them. Even countries that had put only part of the approach in place saw benefits, though full coverage and steady financing remained difficult. The review also marks out what is still not known: little research comes from low and middle income countries, some migrant groups are barely studied, and long term or system wide outcomes are rarely measured. The document runs to 111 pages. WHO offers it as a guide for health ministries designing services for migrants, refugees and displaced people.