Impact of a changing political environment on research on migration and health

Academia has long been imagined as a “safe space”, a domain where even politically sensitive evidence could be generated, debated, and disseminated. However, health and migration research does not occur in a vacuum. It is embedded in, and often constrained by, the shifting priorities of funders and governments. As authoritarian and anti-science politics gain ground across continents, funding is being cut, language is being censored, and in some institutions, academics have lost, or are at risk of losing, their established posts.

This erosion expands well beyond academia. Governments’ shifting priorities away from multilateralism and towards domestic interests is severely affecting migrant health programmes.¹ The public sector, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, and grassroots organisations are all bleeding, with no band-aid in sight.^2,3 Border violence is also growing,^4,5 increasing the dangers migrants face.⁶ The recent shift toward right-leaning governments in many countries introduces a markedly different context–one where scientific evidence may be sidelined and inclusive approaches to migration and health increasingly contested.

Following the Halifax Declaration produced after the 2025 International Refugee and Migration Health Conference in Canada,⁷ we convened a session with the Lancet Migration European Hub at the Global Society on Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health conference in Lisbon in September 2025,⁸ to raise the alarm on the impact of the turbulent political climate on migration and health research. We presented our own experiences—from losing research grants to struggles with evidence dissemination. Four key messages emerged from the discussion with the audience: First, we must unite, work together and support our colleagues most affected by the politicisation of their work. This includes pooling resources across institutions, providing platforms in safer environments, and documenting the shrinking academic space. Second, we must protect jurisdictions where research remains independent from political influence. These spaces must serve as refuges for colleagues working in censored settings. Third, we must maintain the highest standards of data protection and ethics in participatory research. Increasingly, migrant groups hesitate to participate, fearing extradition or data breaches. Finally, we must advocate strategically and collectively. Sporadic efforts are insufficient. Coalitions and coordinated actions are far more powerful to counter increasingly prevalent mis and disinformation.

Frequent political shifts and shifting policy priorities that disrupt long established research agendas create a growing sense of urgency, and with it, a pressing need for sustained counteraction. While heightened pressure can drive innovation, compressed timelines often limit the ability to gather sufficient evidence for informed action. In today's world, marked by political and economic uncertainty and growing division, trust between researchers, policymakers, and civil society is essential. Sustained engagement and the legitimacy it can foster long-term help bridge gaps between knowledge, practice and policy. Without trusted relationships and inclusive processes, we risk entrenching misinformation, racism and xenophobia.

Researchers must continue to quantify health impacts and evaluate the consequences of externalized migration control on both migrant and host populations, while upholding rigorous, context-appropriate methods. We must seize the opportunity to reshape narratives and continue to generate and share evidence. Including all types of migrants, and other displaced populations in research, policy, and practice is essential to achieving universal health coverage and exposing the dangerous impacts of restrictive and unjust policies.^9,10

Protecting and promoting the health of migrants requires that evidence must be understood broadly and generated collaboratively—across institutions, disciplines, and with active participation from affected communities. Representation of the different migrant groups across all levels of policy development is essential not only as a matter of equity but as a foundation for responsive and inclusive policies grounded in lived experience.

In an era of unprecedented migration and forced displacement, evidence-based research faces increasingly hostile environments. Migration and forced displacement will continue to rise, driven by climate change, armed conflict, and geopolitical instability. Rather than framing migration solely as a challenge, a narrative increasingly reinforced by societal polarisation, it is essential to acknowledge and harness the benefits migration brings to host societies. Given persistently low fertility rates across Western countries, migration is not only advantageous but essential to sustaining economic growth and social welfare systems. Migration health will help improve the general equity within national health systems, benefiting all host population groups, including the most vulnerable. In this context, collective health and health security depend on ensuring health for all–migrants included. Achieving this requires a strong commitment to independent, well-funded research, free from political interference, as the foundation for informed decision-making and resilient health systems.

Contributors

The authors conceptualised the Comment following the “Migration and Health Research in Turbulent Times” session that they organised for the Global Society on Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health (GSMERH) conference in Lisbon in September 2025. ED, IB, GF, and RJ co-developed the draft manuscript, with substantial contributions and oversight from KB. All authors commented on drafts and approved the final version.

Declaration of interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest relating to this Comment. GF has received research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, One Child Every Child Research Program at the University of Calgary, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.