International labour trafficking: A neglected social origin of COVID-19

Rojanaworarit, Chanapong; Bouzaidi, Sarah El

doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100121

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Situation analysis of COVID-19 resurgence in Thailand Thailand was the second country to confirm a COVID-19 case after China on January 13, 2020 [4,6]. However, the response this upper-middle-income country took to successfully manage the spread of COVID-19 was exemplary.…”

Section: Lessons Learned and Policy Briefmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The social vulnerabilities experienced within this population interact with COVID-19, exacerbating the effect of this infectious disease among IMWs. Thailand's COVID-19 outbreak among IMWs during late 2020 is an example of this phenomenon [4]. This COVID-19 outbreak raised concern about care for IMWs, exposed existing deficiencies in public health planning and serves as a catalyst for building a more resilient public health system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Building a resilient public health system for international migrant workers: a case study and policy brief for COVID-19 and beyond

Rojanaworarit

Bouzaidi

2021

JHR

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PurposeThis article analyzes deficiencies in public health services for international migrant workers (IMWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides a policy brief for improvement of the public health system.Design/methodology/approachA COVID-19 outbreak that initially clustered in IMWs and further contributed to the resurgence of the disease across Thailand in December 2020 was analyzed to address the deficiencies in public health services based on the framework of the 10 Essential Public Health Services (EPHS). The EPHS framework was also applied to develop policy options and recommendations in the subsequent policy brief.FindingsThis outbreak unveiled unique challenges that make IMWs more vulnerable to COVID-19. The public health system, challenged by the COVID-19 outbreak among IMWs, manifested deficiencies in the planning and implementation of all essential services. Delayed detection of the outbreak along with the lack of policy accommodating undocumented IMWs and the lack of equitable access to testing and treatment for COVID-19 resulted in the transmission of the disease that harmed the public at large.Originality/valueThe comprehensive analysis of the deficiencies in public health services for IMWs enabled a clear description of problems that could be further prioritized by relevant stakeholders. The policy brief provides policymakers with evidence-based recommendations for improving public health services for IMWs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

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Section: Lessons Learned and Policy Briefmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building a resilient public health system for international migrant workers: a case study and policy brief for COVID-19 and beyond

Rojanaworarit

Bouzaidi

2021

JHR

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“…Singapore, a neighboring country, which also hosted large number of migrant workers, has reported infection rate of 56% among its workers in dormitories [10]. And Thailand, another neighboring country hosting large number of migrant workers, similarly attributed a recent surge in Covid-19 to new clusters at the country's largest shrimp market where numerous migrant workers are employed [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sero-Prevalence of Covid-19 among workers in Malaysia

Noordin¹,

Omar²,

Isharudin³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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From the beginning of the pandemic in Feb 2020, Malaysia has been through 4 waves of outbreak, the magnitude of each wave is several orders larger than the preceding one. By the end of the fourth wave in October 2021, Malaysia has among the highest death toll in Asia, cumulative incidence of confirmed cases has reached 7.0 percent. However it remains uncertain what is the true proportion of the population infected. We conducted a serosurvey on 1078 workers from 17 worksites in Klang Valley and Perak between July and September 2021. We tested them for SARSCoV2 specific antibodies using Ecotest, a lateral flow immunoassay. The ability of antibody testing to detect prior infection depends on the assay and seroreversion. We therefore adjusted the prevalence estimates to correct for potential misclassification bias due to the use of LFIA and seroreversion using test sensitivity and specificity results estimated from an independent validation study. The mean age of the workers was 32 years, 89 percent were male and migrant workers comprised 81 percent of all subjects, 59 percent the subjects were from Klang valley. 33 percent of workers had prior PCR confirmed Covid19 infections. We estimated 82.2 percent of workers had been infected by Covid19 by September 2021. Prevalence was 99.9 percent among migrant workers and 12.1 percent among local workers. Klang Valley, the most industrialized region in Malaysia where most migrant workers are found, had 100 percent prevalence, giving an infection to case ratio of about 3. Our seroprevalence results show that the incidence of Covid19 is extremely high among migrant workers in Malaysia, consistent with findings from other countries such as Kuwait and Singapore which also hosted large number of migrant workers.

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“…Migrant workers experience a confluence of vulnerabilities: they are often lower-income, sometimes ethnic minorities, often do work that cannot be done remotely, may have a precarious legal or residential status, and are more likely to live in crowded housing. Large outbreaks among migrant worker communities have been observed in Kuwait ( Alali et al, 2021 ), Singapore ( Gorny et al, 2021 ) and Thailand ( Rojanaworarit and Bouzaidi, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Singapore was one of the first countries outside China to identify COVID-19 cases and, despite early successes in containing spread among the general population, experienced rampant transmission among migrant workers living in purpose-built and other dormitories. The affected community was mostly men working in manual or technical roles, typically aged 20 to 55, living in high density accommodation with 10 to 20 men per room and thousands of men per dormitory ( Gorny et al, 2021 , Rojanaworarit and Bouzaidi, 2021 , Koh, 2020 ). From mid-April, 2020, the government implemented strict containment measures, imposing cordons sanitaires on dormitories to prevent residents’ entry and exit and further movement restrictions within dormitories, measures which were partially relaxed from July, as the outbreak came under control and the residents resumed work, albeit with restrictions to their liberties that persisted over a year thereafter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%