Devex: Opinion: As the world seeks migration solutions, the health sector can help
Naoko Yamamoto, assistant director general for universal health coverage and health systems; Ranieri Guerra, assistant director general for special initiatives; Jim Campbell, director of the health workforce department; and Ibadat Dhillon, technical officer in the Department of Health Workforce; all at the WHO

“Last month, at a conference in Marrakech, Morocco, an overwhelming majority of United Nations member states adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. … In opening the Marrakech conference, the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks point to the importance of the health sector as focus shifts to the implementation of the global compact. … Secretary-General Guterres’ opening remarks echo the report of the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health that challenges the preconception of migrants as a drain on the economy and social services, and as carriers of disease. The UCL-Lancet Commission instead evidences the role of migrants in bolstering health and social services.  … [M]igrant workers in the health sector — motivated by their quest for a better life and to make life better for others through the care they provide — can lead us down a path of dialogue, cooperation, and innovation that delivers the kinds of solutions that are envisioned in the global compact. Working with them, and by strengthening support to established instruments and platforms in the health sector, we can help realize the vision and cooperative framework of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” (1/16).