NGOs deliver much of the frontline care for migrants outside state systems and document access barriers that governments do not. Faith-based organisations run structured programmes with governments, and a small group of funders sustains the field.
NGOs
| Organisation | Type | Health and migration work |
|---|---|---|
| Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) | International medical humanitarian | Care for people on the move; MSF Brazil sits on the Lancet Migration Latin America hub board (UDD) |
| Médecins du Monde / Doctors of the World | International medical NGO | Healthcare Access Observatory in France since 2000 (Santé publique France); European surveys of undocumented migrants’ access to care (MdM 2009) |
| PICUM — Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants | European network | Comparative research on undocumented migrants’ access to health care in EU countries (PICUM) |
| Comede | French NGO | Health, social and legal support for exiles since 1979 (profile) |
| AFEW International and AFEW Kyrgyzstan | Eastern Europe and Central Asia network | HIV among Central Asian labour migrants (AFEW) |
| Project HOPE | International NGO | Cross-border TB among Central Asian labour migrants (Health Affairs) |
| Local NGOs in Samut Sakhon, Thailand | National NGOs | Recruited migrant interpreters and health volunteers before state programmes did (Suvarnathong 2022) |
Faith-based organisations
Lancet Migration explicitly counts faith groups among its partners (Johns Hopkins). Italy’s humanitarian corridors are the clearest example of faith-based organisations working under formal agreements with a government.
| Organisation | Tradition | Health and migration work |
|---|---|---|
| Caritas Italiana | Catholic | Reception and integration, including health care, within Italy’s humanitarian corridors (Vatican News) |
| Community of Sant’Egidio | Catholic lay community | Initiated humanitarian corridors to Italy in 2015–2016 with Protestant churches (ECRE) |
| Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy; Waldensian Table | Protestant | Co-founders of the humanitarian corridors (ECRE) |
| Jesuit Migrant Service | Catholic (Jesuit) | Assists migrants in South America and reports on flows (PAHO) |
Funders
External funding shifted after US foreign assistance cuts in 2025; the EU and European research funders are now the main sources in our region.
| Funder | Instrument | Example |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Facility for Refugees in Türkiye (SIHHAT, SHIFA); EU4Health; NDICI-Global Europe; IPA III | €1.05 billion for refugee health in Türkiye alone (EU) |
| German Research Foundation (DFG) | Research grants | About €3 million for Bielefeld’s refugee health research group (Bielefeld) |
| European Research Council | Research grants | Funds the INTERSECT study on resettled refugees (BAMF) |
| UK research funders (MRC, ESRC, DFID) and Wellcome | Health systems research | Funded migration, gender and health systems research in South Africa (LSHTM); Wellcome funds Wits’ migration and health programme (Edinburgh) |
| Global Fund | TB and HIV grants | Main external funder of TB and HIV work with migrants in Eastern Europe and Central Asia |
| OPEC Fund | Grants | HIV and TB among vulnerable populations in Central Asia, including migrants (OPEC Fund) |
| Council of Europe Development Bank | Loans | Implemented the EU-funded Kilis hospital in Türkiye (Arab News) |
Sources
UDD · Santé publique France · MdM · PICUM · Comede · AFEW · Health Affairs · Suvarnathong · Vatican News · ECRE · PAHO · EU · Bielefeld · BAMF · LSHTM · Edinburgh · OPEC Fund · Arab News