Public health status of Myanmar refugees in South East Asia: A Malaysian case study

Abstract

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports over 80 million people are displaced worldwide with approximately 26.3 million categorized as refugees and over a million residing temporarily in South East Asia. Despite the lack of national legislative framework in place for refugees and asylum seekers (RAS), Malaysia hosts approximately 178,140 as registered with UNHCR and the majority originate from Myanmar. In this review, we examine refugees from South East Asia, particularly from Myanmar that have contributed to the largest influx of refugees to this region with a focus on their health status. The present study traces barriers to the health care of refugees in the country of asylum and also the challenges faced by these communities in accessing health services.