Opinion

COVID-19 was a big test for UN migration initiatives. Did they succeed?

Migrants working in frontline jobs are twice as likely to contract the coronavirus. They are also less likely to access basic services.

By Marion Panizzon

COVID-19 was a big test for UN migration initiatives. Did they succeed? — Napier Barracks in Kent, where government is housing around 400 people seeking asylum in the UK. A coronavirus outbreak has added to concerns over conditions - 26 January 2021 | Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/PA Images. All rights reserved

Published: February 02, 2021, 12:00 am

With COVID-19 disrupting travel, shutting borders, and redefining what is essential work, Pandemic Borders explores what international migration will look like after the pandemic, in this series titled #MigrantFutures

During the springtime lockdowns in Europe, a poem-turned-video ‘you clap for me now’, went viral. Its message was to protect the migrants in the EU, who work to keep home-office populations safe, but who often face discrimination and stigmatization.

Between 13% and a third of essential workers are migrants.

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