Pandemic Preparedness Must Include People on the Move, Global Health Leaders Stress

Representatives from Member States, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector and youth networks shared experiences, identified common challenges and explored opportunities to work together.

For people crossing borders, fleeing conflict or rebuilding their lives after displacement, access to health care can be interrupted by missing documents, unfamiliar languages or services that are difficult to reach. These obstacles were central to a high-level roundtable held on 25 September 2026, where participants called for migrants, refugees and displaced people to be included in pandemic planning as part of everyday health care. Convened by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the discussion took place on the margins of the UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.

Representatives from Member States, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector and youth networks shared experiences, identified common challenges and explored opportunities to work together. Their discussions highlighted the need to move beyond responses built around emergencies and develop resilient health systems that routinely serve people on the move. Accounting for human mobility in preparedness plans means maintaining care as people travel, improving coordination across borders and removing barriers that prevent communities from accessing services or trusting the institutions responsible for their health.

Health Care Must Remain Accessible Before and During Crises

Participants called for preparedness to become a permanent part of national health systems, supported by primary health care and services that continue during routine periods and emergencies. People who move between communities or countries need continuity of care, making cooperation across borders essential to a response that follows their needs. Legal status, documentation requirements, language differences and geographic isolation were identified as persistent obstacles that health systems must address to make access more equitable.

Better information was another priority, with participants calling for data systems that account for migration and displacement so authorities can identify vulnerabilities, understand movement patterns and plan services across borders and along migration routes. Preparedness also needs to cover a broad range of health threats and overlapping crises, giving health systems the capacity to respond to emergencies beyond pandemics alone. Reliable evidence and an all-hazards approach can help planners understand the needs of mobile populations and build those needs into preparedness and response.

Trust Grows Through Communities Having a Voice

Migrant and displaced communities should have an active role in preparedness and decision-making, with their knowledge helping shape services and communication. Community health workers, local organizations, youth networks and other trusted voices can support surveillance, explain health risks and connect people with care. The observation that "trust travels further than trucks" captured a central message from the discussion: relationships with communities are essential to making preparedness work.

Stigma, misinformation and narratives that portray migrants or displaced people as health or security threats can weaken trust, discourage people from seeking care and undermine inclusive policies. Participants called for evidence-based communication supported by voices that communities recognize and trust. Migrant women and young people also need meaningful opportunities to contribute their perspectives and expertise to policies, programmes and decisions, ensuring their involvement carries influence in the systems being developed.

Shared Planning Can Keep Support Connected Across Borders

Governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations and the private sector were urged to coordinate funding, policies and implementation so their efforts support a coherent response. Stronger collaboration across borders can help maintain care for people on the move and reduce gaps created by fragmented services. The roundtable reinforced the need to include human mobility systematically in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response policies, plans and delivery, strengthening dialogue between sectors and identifying opportunities for continued cooperation at global and country levels.