COVID-19 in Marginalised Groups – Challenges, actions and voices

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crisis for governments and health systems, and has severely impacted the health, lives and livelihood of millions of people worldwide.

While COVID-19 has affected everyone, it has had particular impact among marginalised communities such as homeless people, LGTBI people, people who use drugs, prisoners, sex workers and undocumented migrants. The pandemic has amplified existing challenges among these groups, who already face a high risk of poor health and various barriers in accessing healthcare and support services. The Nobody Left Outside (NLO) initiative recently explained these challenges and issued policy recommendations in a briefing paper for the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development.

The webinar “COVID-19 in Marginalised Groups – Challenges, actions and voices” organised in collaboration with the European Health Forum Gastein concludes the NLO Week 2020 – a week of online activities focusing on the unmet healthcare needs of marginalised communities. In this webinar, NLO civil society participants, academics and policymakers will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on marginalised groups, the gaps and unintended consequences of government responses, and how we can ensure future health systems and recovery measures reach everyone.

Speakers include:

Moderator: Boris Azaïs, Director, Public Policy Europe & Canada, MSD

Leaving nobody outside our healthcare systems—in Europe or elsewhere

On November 25, 2019 the BMJ published the following opinion article encouraging the European Commission to support an EU-level knowledge platform to compile and share research and best practices in healthcare access for marginalised, underserved groups. Also, it calls for a joint action to improve access in these groups; healthcare staff training and capacity building via the European Social Fund+, and research to improve access to cancer screening and care among these groups. Lastly, it recommends that the commission should further prioritise a co-ordinated approach to addressing social determinants of health in all policies.