PREFACE The right to health as laid down in the WHO Constitution applies to every person, including refugees and migrants. Globally health has improved, yet there are profound dif‑ ferences and inequities. WHO’s triple billion targets in‑ clude 1 billion more people enjoying improved health and well-being. Here the key is that this improvement should be equitable and enjoyed by all people. This report looks at the ways in which the pandemic has hit the lives of refugees and migrants. It takes the perspective of their own lived experiences during the COVID‑19 crisis. There is clear evidence that even in more normal times their access to health and health services is often severely compromised, both by the organization of the health sys‑ tem and by the social setting in which they live. Women and children may be particularly severely affected. Ultimately, the survey reported in this publication is an inquiry into the right to health for refugees and migrants. Understanding how refugees and migrants themselves ex‑ perience and cope with the pandemic is crucial to shape inclusive and holistic policy responses. We wanted to give refugees and migrants a voice and to understand their spe‑ cific challenges , such as when experiencing limited access to health care as well as their living and working conditions. WHO is committed to the right to health for all, including refugees and migrants. The Thirteenth General Programme of Work concentrates on working towards universal health coverage and the achievement of the Sustainable Devel‑ opment Goals, which include inclusive health systems that put people at the centre. Ensuring the health and well-be‑ ing of refugees and migrants is a key priority within this endeavour. The WHO Global Action Plan, Promoting the Health of Refugees and Migrants, aims to both protect ref‑ ugee and migrant health and leave no one behind. To move ahead and make a difference, WHO has now es‑ tablished the WHO Global Programme for Health and Mi‑ gration. The Programme aims to provide and coordinate global leadership, policy, advocacy and research around health and migration; set norms and standards; promote tools and strategies; and generate evidence-based infor‑ mation to support decision-making. It will support Mem‑ ber States as well as other parts of WHO in addressing the public health challenges that are associated with human mobility, as well as promote global multilateral action and collaboration. This ApartTogether survey report serves as a first inquiry into the social impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on ref‑ ugees and migrants globally. It shows that, even though refugees and migrants face similar health threats as their host populations, the pandemic may have exacerbated their often precarious living and working conditions. The results underline the need and importance of including them in inclusive policy responses to COVID‑19. We hope that this report will inform political leaders and health managers and professionals about the possible heightened vulnerabilities of refugees and migrants during the pandemic and focus attention on this issue. We hope that this will lead to further research at global, regional, country and local levels on how address refugee and mi‑ grant health. National health policies, and supporting leg‑ islative and financial frameworks, should promote the right to health of refugees and migrants, see health as an inte‑ grating force in society and be gender sensitive. We must recognize that the pandemic is bringing to the fore and exacerbating existing inequities in health system capacities and responses. We must commit to working with countries to build health system capacities and resil‑ ience in the face of the pandemic. We must take measures to identify and counter stigmatizing and discriminatory practices towards refugees and migrants in our COVID‑19 responses. We must achieve equitable access to essential health services for refugees and migrants, remove finan‑ cial and other barriers to COVID‑19 testing and treatment services and introduce safety nets to mitigate the adverse social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Above all we must leave none behind in our public health responses to the pandemic, using an inclusive approach that respects human rights. Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab Dr Santino Severoni WHO Deputy Director-General Director, Global Programme on Health and Migration Preface | v