Unveiling the Health Concerns of Climate Migrants: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Climate change has forced a significant population around the world to migrate from their homelands. People who migrate in the context of climate change experience a range of challenges and their health is one of the overlooked issues. The present study is a narrative review to identify the health implications of climate-induced migration and assess the healthcare system available to climate migrants. A systematic literature search was conducted on Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. This review adopted the PRISMA flow diagram for article selection, and ten full-text research articles published between 2016 and 2023 were reviewed. The study finds that climate migrants face a multitude of physical, mental, and social health issues both at their origin and destination that significantly impact their well–being. It was found that women, children, and the elderly are extremely vulnerable to climate-related migration problems. Moreover, inadequate access to healthcare facilities exacerbates their health problems. Given the likelihood of climate-related disasters to increase in the future, resulting in more climate migrants, it is imperative to address their health problems. This review makes an important contribution in this regard by attempting to synthesise the little but existing available literature on the health impacts of this vulnerable group.