An Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care

The world is facing an unprecedented number of displaced people as a result of war, conflict and natural disasters (The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2019). The UNHCR's UN Refugee Agency estimates that 70.8 million people around the world were forcibly displaced at the end of 2018 as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations. During the course of the year, 13.6 million people were newly displaced including 37,000 people every day. Fifty per cent of the world’s refugees and displaced are children. Overwhelmingly, it is developing countries that are most affected. Permanent resettlement occurs in less than one per cent of cases (UNHCR, 2019). This chapter provides readers with a general overview of the impact of war and displacement on health, and an insight into the current Australian humanitarian programs for refugees arriving, including the offshore medical assessment and onshore settlement programs.