{"id":145803,"date":"2026-10-09T23:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T20:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/?p=145803"},"modified":"2026-10-09T23:40:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T20:40:48","slug":"philippines-and-iom-call-for-migrant-inclusive-pandemic-preparedness-at-unga-81","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/?p=145803","title":{"rendered":"Philippines and IOM Call for Migrant-Inclusive Pandemic Preparedness at UNGA 81"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paula Sweis<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

New York – Paula Sweis – From UN<\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Government officials, international organizations, and global health representatives gathered at United Nations Headquarters on September 24 to examine how countries can strengthen pandemic preparedness while addressing the health needs of migrants, refugees, and populations moving across borders.<\/p>\n

The high-level side event, titled \u201cPandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) and Human Mobility: From Global Commitments to Operational Action,\u201d was held in the United Nations Trusteeship Council Chamber during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the Government of the Philippines and co-hosted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the discussion brought together representatives of governments and international health institutions, with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pandemic Fund, and other partners supporting the initiative.<\/p>\n

The gathering took place one day before the UN General Assembly\u2019s second High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, placing the health implications of international migration within a broader conversation about global health security and cooperation.<\/p>\n

Human Mobility and the Future of Pandemic Preparedness<\/p>\n

A central focus of the discussion was the need to recognize human mobility as an essential component of pandemic prevention and response.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how quickly health emergencies can disrupt international travel, labor markets, healthcare systems, and the movement of people across borders.<\/p>\n

\"Paula
Paula Sweis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For migrants, overseas workers, refugees, and displaced populations, these disruptions can create additional challenges in accessing medical services, receiving reliable health information, and maintaining continuity of care.<\/p>\n

Participants emphasized that national preparedness strategies must account for these realities before the next health emergency occurs.<\/p>\n

The discussion also examined how stronger coordination between governments, border authorities, healthcare providers, and international organizations can improve disease surveillance and emergency response while ensuring that vulnerable populations are not excluded from essential services.<\/p>\n

Philippines Highlights Lessons From COVID-19<\/p>\n

Representatives of the Philippines emphasized the country\u2019s experience managing the movement and repatriation of overseas Filipino workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s response required coordination among national health authorities, local governments, border officials, and communities receiving returning workers.<\/p>\n

Philippine officials described the importance of connecting health measures at international points of entry with domestic healthcare systems, including testing, quarantine, disease surveillance, and referral services.<\/p>\n

They also highlighted the particular needs of Filipino migrant workers, healthcare professionals, seafarers, and their families, whose employment and mobility frequently extend across national borders.<\/p>\n

The Philippines called for stronger adherence to the International Health Regulations and greater cooperation among governments and international partners.<\/p>\n

Its representatives pointed to ongoing national efforts to strengthen primary healthcare, early screening, health promotion, and preparedness planning as part of a broader approach to health security.<\/p>\n

The discussion reflected the Philippines\u2019 position that pandemic preparedness must protect people throughout their movement between countries, rather than treating migration as a separate issue during emergencies.<\/p>\n

IOM Calls for Stronger Cross-Border Health Cooperation<\/p>\n

The International Organization for Migration emphasized that population movement must be considered when countries design systems to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n

IOM representatives highlighted the importance of strengthening health preparedness at border crossings, ports, and other points of entry, while improving cooperation between neighboring countries.<\/p>\n

The organization also called attention to the role of mobility data in understanding how diseases may spread through travel routes, displacement patterns, and cross-border economic activity.<\/p>\n

Such information can help governments improve surveillance, coordinate responses, and identify communities that may otherwise be overlooked in national preparedness strategies.<\/p>\n

The discussion drew attention to the importance of maintaining public trust during health emergencies, particularly when screening, medical referrals, or other protective measures affect people traveling between countries.<\/p>\n

Another area of concern was the international movement of healthcare workers and the need to strengthen health systems without overlooking the workforce shortages faced by countries of origin.<\/p>\n

Healthcare Workforce and International Partnerships<\/p>\n

The forum also considered how cooperation among countries can strengthen healthcare capacity before future emergencies.<\/p>\n

Jamaica presented examples of international partnerships involving specialist training, healthcare workforce development, and collaboration with countries including the Philippines.<\/p>\n

These efforts illustrated how governments can work together to address shortages of healthcare professionals while supporting training, knowledge sharing, and long-term institutional capacity.<\/p>\n

The broader discussion underscored the importance of investing in primary healthcare, community-based health systems, medical personnel, and cross-border coordination rather than relying exclusively on emergency measures once an outbreak begins.<\/p>\n

Participants also examined the role of sustainable financing and international partnerships in maintaining preparedness systems between public health crises.<\/p>\n

From Global Commitments to Operational Action<\/p>\n

The September 24 gathering took place against the backdrop of ongoing international efforts to strengthen pandemic preparedness following the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

The WHO Pandemic Agreement and the International Health Regulations provide important frameworks for cooperation, but the discussions highlighted the challenge of translating international commitments into measures that governments and healthcare institutions can implement.<\/p>\n

For countries experiencing significant international migration, the ability to coordinate across borders is particularly important.<\/p>\n

Disease surveillance, access to vaccines and medical treatment, emergency communication, and the continuity of essential healthcare services all depend on cooperation among multiple institutions and jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

The forum reinforced the importance of including migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, and other mobile populations in national health planning.<\/p>\n

As world leaders continued discussions during UNGA 81, the event highlighted a central challenge for international health cooperation: ensuring that future pandemic preparedness systems reflect the realities of a world in which millions of people move across borders for employment, safety, education, and family.<\/p>\n

The discussion at the Trusteeship Council Chamber demonstrated that protecting global health requires not only international agreements, but also practical coordination, sustained investment, and healthcare systems capable of serving people wherever they may be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paula Sweis     New York – Paula Sweis – From UN NEW YORK \u2014 Government officials, international organizations, and global health representatives gathered at United Nations Headquarters on September 24 to examine how countries can strengthen pandemic preparedness while addressing the health needs of migrants, refugees, and populations moving across borders. The high-level side …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":145804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diverse-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=145803"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145808,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145803\/revisions\/145808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/145804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=145803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=145803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=145803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}