Overcoming Health Challenges Faced By Migrant Agricultural Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, employment and housing conditions predispose this workforce to heightened risks and challenges. Outbreaks that have occurred on farms and in other areas of food production reveal elevated levels of risk that must be mitigated to keep MAWs safe and healthy going forward. There are many steps that federal agencies, in partnership with provincial and regional authorities, can take to both prevent and mitigate the health risks that can lead to outbreaks among MAWs.

In this document, the Migrant Worker Health Expert Working Group (MWHEWG) outlines key health care gaps and challenges as well as respective solutions that can be taken both to prevent COVID-19 spread and mitigate the various consequences that may occur if/when a future outbreak were to occur on a farm, in a greenhouse or any kind of food production facility where MAWs are predominantly employed. This document is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather, to propel necessary conversations for action. Evidence and recommendations will evolve as scholarship and current issues on the topic emerge and the MWHEWG will provide ongoing updates.