Migrant status, ethnicity and Covid-19
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Purpose of this document
This document provides a collection of links and references containing information about the way the Covid-9 pandemic is affecting the health and well-being of migrants and members of ethnic minorities. There are many indications that some of these groups may be
- at increased risk of infection by Covid-19,
- more vulnerable to severe disease outcomes, and/or
- more seriously impacted by measures to control its spread.
This document was originally drafted to follow up the March 2020 Call for Action by the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) Migrant and Ethnic Minority Health Section. Because of widespread interest in the issue, it is being circulated to a broader group of potential users and contributors. Please feel free to send the link to anyone you feel might appreciate having it and can be trusted to use it responsibly.
Anyone who reads this document can make comments on it and suggest additions or alterations, which will be moderated. In order to preserve the structure of the document, new material may be inserted in a different place in the document. Other users can respond to the comments, providing a sort of chat facility. The setup is experimental and may be changed as we go along. Suggested contributions can also be sent by e-mail to covidmem@gmail.com.
The material collected here can be used by anyone. As this document is simply a kind of virtual message-board containing links to other material, there is no obligation to cite it as a source. If you make use of the material, the normal rules concerning authorship and copyright will of course apply. If you wish to be acknowledged as the author of text that you contribute to the document itself, please make this clear when making your contribution. No responsibility can be taken for the accuracy or quality of the material to which links are provided.
Note on terminology
Multiple and overlapping definitions of the categories ‘migrant’ and ‘ethnic minority’ are in use. In some countries (mainly the USA and UK) ‘ethnicity’ is the concept more often used to disaggregate data, in other countries it is ‘migrant’.
Migrant status. This document starts from the definition of ‘international migrant’ contained in the UN’s 1998 Recommendations [p.9]: “any person changing his or her country of usual residence. Temporary travel abroad for purposes of recreation, holiday, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage does not entail a change in the country of usual residence.” Apart from the latter restriction, the definition does not specify the purpose of the move or its duration, or whether country of birth, country of previous residence or nationality (citizenship) should be used to identify a migrant.
In keeping with the UN Recommendations, this document regards refugees and asylum seekers as belonging to the category ‘migrant’ (though national legislation may not always treat asylum seekers as residents). Some organisations within the UN system (such as UNHCR and WHO) refer habitually to ‘refugees and migrants’, which suggests that these categories are mutually exclusive, but this usage conflicts with the UN’s own recommendations and statistical practices. However, the policy for gathering material is inclusive and does not exclude articles or reports that use non-standard definitions.
‘Migrant status’ can refer either to the difference between migrants and non-migrants, or to subdivisions within the category ‘migrant’, such as labour migrant, international student, family member of a migrant, beneficiary of international protection, or irregular [undocumented] migrant.
Ethnic minorities. There are no UN recommendations regarding the definition of ‘ethnic minorities’, ‘ethnicity’, or ‘minorities’. These terms are defined in a variety of different ways. Again, we do not select material on the basis of its conformity with a particular definition. The reader must always bear in mind that different studies may use the same word to mean different things.
The reason for collecting material on both migrants and ethnic minorities is because these categories overlap, though not completely.
- Where data are usually disaggregated by ethnicity (as in the USA and UK), migrants may only be visible as members of ethnic minorities. This alone will not make it possible to distinguish first-generation migrants from descendents of migrants born in the country.
- Conversely, where data are only disaggregated in terms of migrant status (as in most countries on the European continent), ethnicity can only be established on the basis of country of birth or nationality, neither of which are good proxies. (A single ethnic group may be dispersed over more than one country; moreover, countries usually harbour more than one ethnic group.) If one only includes migrants, many members of ethnic minorities will be excluded, including the descendants of migrants..
Ideally, disaggregation should be carried out using both migrant status and ethnicity. Some countries do this, but until the practice is universal our field of study will remain inherently fragmented.
The diagram below illustrates the relation between these concepts. If one goes far enough back in history, all human beings have a migration background - but groups that were already present when the majority population arrived are labelled as ‘indigenous minorities’.
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What kinds of material will be collected?
In European countries other than the UK, only sporadic data and reports seem to exist concerning increased risks for MEM. In Norway, for example, data from the Norwegian Public Health Institute (FHI) suggest risks among Somali refugees that are 5 times higher than would be expected from their presence in the general population. Deaths among this group have also received media attention in Sweden. However, more information is increasingly becoming available, most of it concerning migrants. Data on indigenous minorities or people with a migration background (e.g. the ‘second generation’) are more scarce, as are – almost by definition – data on irregular migrants. Information about these groups will be all the more valuable.
Asylum seekers and other migrants housed in collective accommodation, camps, or detention centres are highly vulnerable to infection if an outbreak occurs, as indeed are the inmates of prisons in the penal system. There is great concern about people living in the squalid and overcrowded camps on the island of Lesbos, such as Moria, but these are far from being the only areas of risk.
In order to build up a picture of the situation in Europe, the need is for data and reports concerning infections, serious illness and deaths from Covid-19 among MEM, as well as on social and economic impacts. The ApartTogether study is asking MEM themselves about the particular hardships they are experiencing. Official statistics, surveys, academic publications and media reports can all contribute to building up the picture.
Separate (‘satellite’) documents will be made for all the countries in which the amount of information available makes this worthwhile. These will be maintained by a small working group in each country. These documents will usually be written in one of the national languages, though some signposts and summaries will be provided in English. Satellite documents are also provided dealing with general issues, groups of countries, or ethnic minorities (in particular the Roma) that are not confined to a single country.
Satellite documents
For general issues:
What explanations have been put forward?
Information about national policies during the pandemic
General material (websites and documents issued by organisations)
For countries and groups:
Some of these documents are still under development, so the link to them is not yet activated
Belgium
Denmark
Portugal
Spain