Economic woe of outbreaks ‘may force poor into migration’

THE dire economic impact of the global coronavirus pandemic is likely to propel new waves of migrants and refugees towards the richer parts of the world, the head of the Red Cross warned yesterday.

People from poor countries may also seek to reach wealthier nations in order to access anti-covid-19 vaccinations, particularly if rich countries try to buy up supplies if and when they become commercially available.

“We should not be surprised if there is a massive impact on migration in the coming months and years,” said Jagan Chapagain, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

National lockdowns and the collapse of businesses around the globe were likely to propel huge numbers of migrants, in addition to the vast flows that have been seen in recent years as a result of war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

“What we hear is that many people who are losing livelihoods, once the borders start opening, will feel compelled to move,” he told AFP. With more people on the move, there were likely to be numerous “tragedies along the way”, including more deaths at sea, human trafficking and exploitation.

Rich countries needed to take action to tackle poverty so as to prevent people having to flee their home countries. “The cost of supporting the migrants, during the transit and of course when they reach the country of destination, is much more than supporting people in their livelihoods, education, health needs in their own country,” said Mr Chapagain, who is Nepalese.

The World Health Organisation is behind efforts to try to ensure that any coronavirus vaccine is deemed a “global public good”. But the US and others are racing to secure stocks. “If people see that the vaccine is say, for example, available in Europe but not in Africa, what happens? People want to go to a place where vaccines are available,” Mr Chapagain said.