Urban refugees: the hidden population

Abstract

There has been a sharp increase in forced displacement in recent decades, particularly of urban refugees who comprise 60% of refugees worldwide. Urban refugees are largely concentrated in the developing world. Non-recognition of their status as refugees in countries of asylum contributes to unique legal, social, and material precarity which engenders a range of protection challenges, including health risks. This chapter provides an operational definition for urban refugees and discuss their unique health risks within the legal and policy contexts they live in, their access to health care, and the challenges experienced by host countries grappling with resource constraints and stretched health-care systems.