Understanding the Healthcare Challenges Faced by Refugees

Understanding the Healthcare Challenges Faced by Refugees

At Refugee Girls Worldwide (RGW), we believe that refuge means more than crossing borders; it means finding safety, dignity, and the chance to heal. Across the world, over 110 million people have been forcibly displaced, including refugees and those uprooted within their own countries. Many have lost not only their homes but also access to the healthcare systems that once sustained them.

For RGW, healthcare for refugees and displaced families is not a privilege; it’s the foundation of resilience. In every country we serve, from Turkiye to Pakistan and Gaza, our mission is clear: to ensure that women, children, and families can access the care they need to live, recover, and rebuild with dignity.

The Everyday Struggles Behind Access to Healthcare

Among the many challenges that refugees face, few are as urgent as accessing timely and affordable medical care. Families often arrive in new regions without health insurance, legal documents, or the financial means to visit a clinic. In rural areas like Attock, Pakistan, the lack of medical infrastructure means even basic treatment can be hours away. In Gaza, constant bombardment and destroyed hospitals leave tens of thousands without emergency care.

Women and children bear the heaviest burden. Pregnant mothers risk unsafe deliveries, infants miss vaccinations, and adolescent girls lack access to menstrual hygiene products and reproductive education. Many displaced families also face untreated chronic illnesses and emotional trauma after years of conflict and uncertainty.

Despite these challenges, communities continue to persevere, and RGW is walking beside them every step of the way.

How RGW Is Bridging the Gap

To address what problems do refugees face in accessing consistent care, RGW delivers field-tested, compassionate healthcare solutions across multiple countries. Our teams witness daily how refugees and health care intersect in complex ways, from access challenges in Turkiye to systemic barriers in Pakistan.

Through our healthcare initiatives, RGW ensures that displaced families receive the medical care, nutrition, and emotional support they deserve. Our approach combines on-the-ground expertise, local partnerships, and a deep understanding of cultural context because healing begins with trust.

• Maternal & Newborn Care Program, Turkiye: More than 4,000 mothers and babies have received prenatal and postnatal support, safe deliveries, and mental-health counselling.
• Primary Care Clinic, Attock (Pakistan): A three-phase project providing free consultations, a pharmacy, and monthly cataract surgeries that restore sight and hope.
• Medical Recovery Homes, Turkiye: Safe housing and food for refugee children battling cancer, offering stability during long treatment periods.
• SAFA Hospice for Terminally Ill Children:An upcoming sanctuary in Adana dedicated to children affected by war, inspired by one of RGW’s first beneficiaries, Safa.
• Gaza Primary Care Clinic: Serving over 500 patients daily, it remains one of Rafah’s few operational facilities, delivering emergency care, maternal health, and wound treatment amid ongoing conflict.

By improving coordination between refugees and health care providers, RGW bridges critical gaps in treatment and trust. In each of these programs, our field teams see the same truth: when you restore health, you restore hope.

Turning Pain into Purpose

From the heart of war-torn Syria to a children’s hospital ward in Turkiye, Vefa’s journey reflects the resilience that defines RGW’s mission. Her family fled Aleppo after her school was bombed, leaving behind the life they once knew. In Turkiye, she discovered her gift for art, a spark of beauty in the midst of chaos.

With the help of an RGW scholarship, Vefa was able to continue her education and buy the books and art supplies she needed. But her story didn’t end there. Today, she volunteers in a hospital supported by RGW, painting bright murals in the children’s cancer ward to comfort young patients facing their own battles.

“When I was at my lowest, someone reached out to help me,” she says. “Now, every stroke of my brush is a way to pass that kindness forward.”

Her story is a testament to RGW’s belief that when girls are empowered through healthcare and education, they become the healers, artists, and leaders of tomorrow.

Health Is Hope

From Turkiye’s clinics to Gaza’s emergency wards, RGW’s work is powered by one simple truth: healthcare for refugees is the first step toward rebuilding lives. Every medical recovery home, maternity program, and child-care initiative represents a promise that no one should be denied the right to heal because of where they were born or what they’ve endured.

Join us in this mission.

Support RGW Healthcare Initiatives and help ensure that every displaced woman, child, and family can access the care, dignity, and hope they deserve.