Populations at special health risk: Displaced populations

The number of displaced people in the world today – which includes those uprooted by violent conflict, natural disasters, economic development, climate change, and a variety of other causes – continues to grow. Such people face serious risks to their safety and health, related to the causes and effects of the flight itself, acute and chronic diseases, mental illness, and cultural dislocation. Women and children are particularly vulnerable. Responses – both in the countries of origin and internationally – are often inadequate, either because of insufficient resources or a lack of compassion and generosity from the world community. There is a need to rethink the definitions of ‘refugee’ and ‘internally displaced person,’ which are largely obsolete in the era of complex and changing internal and global forces, and to redesign the institutions that have been constructed to deal with the problem.