“Living in Confinement, Stopped in Time”: Migrant Social Vulnerability, Coping and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in France

Maria De Jesus (), Zoubida Moumni, Zara Hassan Sougui, Neeharika Biswas, Raquel Kubicz and Lionel Pourtau
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Maria De Jesus: Center on Health, Risk, and Society, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Zoubida Moumni: Psychologie de la Santé, Université Lumière Lyon 2, 69365 Lyon, France
Zara Hassan Sougui: Santé Publique, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
Neeharika Biswas: Center on Health, Risk, and Society, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Raquel Kubicz: Center on Health, Risk, and Society, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Lionel Pourtau: Habitat et Humanisme, 69300 Caluire et Cuire, France

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed health and social inequities among migrant populations. Less empirical evidence exists about the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on migrants. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the first lockdown in France between March and May 2020 on migrants’ lives and livelihoods. We adopted a social vulnerability framework to conceptualize how the pandemic and the consequential lockdown in France contributed to a ‘compounded crisis’ for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. This crisis encompassed health, protection, and socio-economic challenges for migrants and exposed the shortcomings of existing government policies that exclude migrants and do not address the root causes of health inequities. The study draws on in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 75 asylum seekers and undocumented migrants during the pandemic lockdown in the French regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Île-de-France. The findings of this paper highlight the importance of implementing a cohesive pandemic response approach that views health as a fundamental inclusive right for all human beings and all policies as health policies to promote well-being for all.

Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown; pandemic; migrants; asylum seekers; crisis; social vulnerability; health inequities; France (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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