Mobility: Internal and International

Are rural–urban migrants living in urban slums more vulnerable in terms of housing, health knowledge, smoking, mental health and general health?

“…According to a conservative estimate in the Human Development Report 2009, the magnitude of internal migration is much greater than that of international migration. For instance, the number of international and internal migrants was approximately 214 and 740 million, respectively, in 2009 (Bagchi, ; UNDP, ; Zimmerman et al., ). These migrants are contributing significantly to the development of their country by sending remittances home (Castles & Miller, ).…”

“…Generally, people tend to migrate to find new opportunities or to escape household poverty or conflict or environmental degradation (Castles & Miller, ; Siddiqui, ; Zimmerman et al., ). Although migration can be either voluntary or forced (ADB, ; Bagchi, ), in Bangladesh the vast majority of the internal rural–urban migrants move due to push factors such as rural poverty, unemployment and natural hazards (Chowdhury et al., ). Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated and economically poor countries in the world.…”

“…The consequences (mostly negative) of rapid urbanisation and migration in developing countries are remarkable (Jahan, ; Khan, ). These factors may place enormous burdens on the urban infrastructure and sustainability (Bagchi, ; Jahan, ; Rana, ) and influence the health of the migrants (Chen, ; Khan, ; Lu, ; McKinlay, ) because most migrants in rapidly urbanising countries generally settle down in environmentally poor areas, characterised by lack of adequate sanitation and clean water, poor housing and overcrowding, and lack of access to healthcare services (Afsar, ; Antai, Wedren, Bellocco, & Moradi, ; Jahan, ; Khan, Gruebner, & Kraemer, ; Li, Stanton, Fang, & Lin, ). Migration may disrupt social support and network systems and have a detrimental effect on psychological health and well‐being.…”