HEALTH Poor access to health care linked to higher death risk among undocumented migrants Researchers from the European University Institute and the University of Geneva found a link between less inclusive policies on access to health care and poorer health outcomes among undocumented migrants in Switzerland. The researchers found that death from circulatory system diseases is twice as frequent among undocumented migrants compared to documented migrants and Swiss citizens. This difference is smaller in the Swiss cantons that have more inclusive health care policies towards undocumented migrants. Restrictive immigration policies linked to poorer health for undocumented migrants In its global report on the health of refugees and migrants, published in July 2022, the WHO finds poorer health outcomes among migrants are linked to various suboptimal health determinants, such as education, income, housing, access to services, compounded by linguistic, cultural, legal and other barriers and their interaction. The report finds that restrictive immigration policies and fears of deportation as a result of accessing health care lead to poorer health outcomes for undocumented migrants. The WHO calls on States to design inclusive health care systems and address health inequities. Germany: legal action against obligation to report undocumented patients In Germany, activists are taking legal action against the obligation for “welfare offices” to report undocumented patients to immigration authorities as they try to access health care. In May, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte, supported by Doctors of the World Germany, together with a plaintiff with a heart condition and no regular residence status, filed a lawsuit and an urgent application against the Social Welfare Office in Frankfurt to stop the transfer of his data to the Foreigners' Registration Office when applying for a treatment certificate. The Administrative Court of Frankfurt rejected the application as inadmissible on the ground that the applicant did not have a "summonable address". The activists are now filing an appeal to the Administrative Court of Kassel.