Refugees, Host Countries and the Coronavirus Pandemic

Policy Matters

While refugees are not inherently more susceptible to the Covid-19 virus, the conditions in which many refugees and internally displaced persons live and their difficulty in accessing basic health services leave them highly vulnerable. What is the current global refugee situation? What has been the impact of the pandemic on refugees and other displaced persons and on the countries that host them? How has the pandemic altered government policies around the world, including safe third country agreements and other measures to limit refugee flows?

This special podcast is drawn from a webinar hosted by the Baker Institute Roundtable on April 16. It features Dr. Kelsey Norman, the Kelly Day Fellow in Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees in the Baker Institute’s Center for the Middle East. Norman is joined by Ms. Chetna Cates, Director of Membership at the Baker Institute.