A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that, while data on antibiotic use and access among the world's migrants and refugees are scarce, multiple factors may be keeping these vulnerable populations from obtaining and using antibiotics appropriately.

The findings are from the fourth report from the WHO's Global Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM), which aims to address knowledge gaps on the health status of the estimated 281 million refugees and migrants around the world. Previous GEHM reports have looked at public health policies, noncommunicable disease management, and immunization in refugees and migrants—groups the WHO says need to be included in the agency's efforts to expand universal health coverage and achieve its Sustainable Development Goals.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as one of the world's most significant public health challenges, with recent estimates indicating that drug-resistant bacteria are responsible for 1.27 million deaths a year and contribute to nearly 5 million. And refugees and migrants may be particularly vulnerable to AMR; crowded conditions, poor hygiene, and inadequate sanitation in refugee camps, detention centers, and migrant-worker housing create an environment in which drug-resistant respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens can easily spread.

The WHO says equitable access to antibiotics in these populations is both a basic human right and a pressing global health issue.

"Access to safe, effective, affordable, high-quality antibiotics for all, including refugees and migrants, is key to promoting the health of these populations and is essential to addressing AMR and maintaining the ability to treat infections," Santino Severoni, MD, director of the WHO Health and Migration Programme, said in a press release.