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41.6 million people are refugees.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that at the end of 2025, 41.6 million people were refugees, and this number is expected to increase with the climate crisis. Refugees face many socioeconomic barriers to food, shelter and medical care, whether in their location of origin, transit or destination. This may be due to reasons such as violence and conflict, lack of availability, finances, weather-related disasters or isolation.

World Refugee Day on June 20^th was named to raise awareness of the challenges refugees face. We have put together a collection of interesting articles published across the BMC Series to highlight these issues.

Feeling ill in a host country: where does one seek help?

Primary care is often the first point of contact for refugees experiencing health concerns in a foreign country. BMC Primary Care, edited by Alex Goodridge, recently published an exploratory qualitative study on the General Practitioners’ (GP) readiness in advising patients from refugee backgrounds. Among the identified themes on what makes a good GP are cultural awareness, respect for rights and choices and interest in social issues that determine health.

In another paper, it was identified that receptionists may exercise personal discretion which may obstruct or facilitate migrant access to care. There, it was recommended that changes to medical training and practice be made, in addition to providing linguistic training to manage migrant clinical needs.

In BMC Oral Health, data presented provided important insights into the oral health needs of newly arrived Ukrainian refugees, particularly in the early days of war. Host countries are encouraged to deliver targeted dental care, promote oral health and reduce the inequalities among conflict-displaced populations.

Refugee women face specific challenges.

BMC Women’s Health, edited by Zhilian Hu, presents studies highlighting issues faced by migrant women. For example, cultural misconceptions and limited autonomy are some barriers to family planning and contraception use faced by Syrian refugee women in Lebanon.

The Self-Efficacy and Knowledge (SEEK) trial aims to improve sexual reproductive health and family planning among Syrian refugee women and girls in humanitarian settings. Sociodemographic factors such as financial barriers to seeking healthcare, use of family planning methods, knowledge of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) transmission and age of spouse were identified as relevant factors for sexual reproductive health outcomes.

Gaps in healthcare for refugees in host countries also mean that refugees may continue to suffer from ailments undetected and untreated. Urinary incontinence (UI) is prevalent among refugee women, based on this cross-sectional study. Linked to risk factors such as diabetes, high parity and sexual violence, many of the refugee women in the study report that they were never queried about the symptoms of UI by a healthcare professional.

Women in situations of conflict, post-conflict and resettlement also face higher prevalence of intimate partner violence. A survey study revealed the most common types of abuse they face, such as forced isolation from family and friends, blame for abusive behaviour, put-downs and physical violence. At the same time, separation from families, pre-arrival trauma and limited support networks contribute to these women being more likely to remain with an abusive partner and less likely to report abuse incidents.

Traumatised by the past, fearful of the future.

In BMC Public Health, studies selected by editors Lorena Verduci and Chris Booker illustrate the public health and mental health challenges that refugees face.

The Collection “Mental health of immigrants” digs deep into the mental health struggles of migrants and refugees. A study of voluntary migrants and refugees experiencing verbal violence in German public institutions clearly showed that while both groups experienced comparable generalised anxiety, refugees significantly exhibited more symptoms of clinical depression. Exploration of the peri-migration stressors to which refugees are exposed, such as fraud, extortion, robbery, detention, shipwrecks and life-threatening country crossings revealed that these contribute to refugees’ long-term psychological distress. Additionally, trauma experienced by one generation has potential to impact those that follow. Findings indicate that maternal trauma exposure in particular, as well as elevated post-migration stressors for mothers, may contribute to mental health risk in refugee youth.

Importantly, migrant adolescents were found to make less use of mental health services than native adolescents despite enduring migration-related trauma, with emergency presentations often being their first point of contact with mental health care, suggesting substantial access barriers.

Further evidence that underscores the importance of mental health services in host countries is apparent, as seen in this quantitative cross-sectional study on Ukrainian refugees residing in Poland. Resilience plays a crucial protective role against psychological distress, anxiety and depression, highlighting a need for resilience-building as part of mental healthcare services.

Non-mental health-related illnesses in refugees also require urgent attention. Refugees from countries with a high prevalence of HIV may have specific care needs that host countries should be equipped to provide. HIV surveillance data was analysed to identify transmission routes, age and gender distributions to better understand the needs of this population.

Host country health systems also struggle in a humanitarian emergency. Limited resources to handle the sudden increase of cases may lead to disrupted health systems. This systematic review on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) revealed a lack of quality data in this area and exposed a need for current evidence on interventions for NCDs in humanitarian emergencies.

The high burden of chronic diseases and multimorbidity is aptly delineated in a cross-sectional study on resettled Bhutanese older adults in Ohio. Accelerated aging and a myriad of stress factors related to displacement and social and economic factors profoundly exacerbate physical health and well-being problems among refugees. The study emphasises the need for targeted health research on chronic disease prevention and lifestyle management interventions for refugees.

We arrived safely and sought help, but it was too late.

A refugee’s journey is perilous and wrought with stressors that may exacerbate illness. Having to flee in a hurry results in disruptions to ongoing life processes, such as clinical treatments and follow-ups. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, edited by Xiulin Koehler, published a case report reiterating the compelling need for prompt and urgent intervention. A refugee of war with a congenital heart defect presented cyanosis in a destination country. Reportedly, an assessment for a heart and lung transplant had been initiated in his home country before he was forced to flee. Due to his complex condition, he was scheduled for a transplant evaluation. However, he developed a severe respiratory infection and succumbed to illness only four days after admission.

Refugees face many challenges, from the force that drove them from their home countries and the difficult journeys they take to reach safety, to the mental and socio-economic struggles they deal with in their host countries. The UNHCR works to save lives and build better futures for the millions of people forced to flee their homes. To learn more about the organisation and World Refugee Day, please visit their website.

This post supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities and SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and the Springer Nature SDG Programme.