Sharmila Thirumalaikumar, Kannan Kowsalya, Anselina Sok Mian Goh and Maurice Han Tong Ling*

School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, United Kingdom and School of Health Sciences, Management Development Institute of Singapore, Republic of Singapore

*Corresponding Author: Maurice Han Tong Ling, School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, United Kingdom and School of Health Sciences, Management Development Institute of Singapore, Republic of Singapore.

Received: September 19, 2025; Published: October 31, 2025

Abstract

Despite India’s long-standing role as a host to diverse refugee populations; including Rohingyas, Sri Lankan Tamils, Afghans, and Tibetans; there remains a notable gap in systematic, context-specific research on healthcare access within this population. Existing global literature tends to generalise refugee health challenges, with minimal attention to India’s unique legal ambiguity, decentralised healthcare governance, and sociopolitical complexities. This systematic review, registered with PROSPERO (CRD420250654398), investigates the structural barriers to healthcare access faced by refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) in India. A PubMed search was conducted for studies published between 01 January 2014 and 31 December 2024 using date range option in PubMed. The initial search yielded 311 records; after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 47 studies were included in the final synthesis. The review identifies four interrelated structural barriers that impede equitable access to healthcare for RAS in India: (1) the absence of legal recognition, which excludes individuals from national health schemes and deters service utilisation due to fear of detention or deportation; (2) systemic financial constraints, including high out-of-pocket expenses, ineligibility for insurance, and economic precarity; (3) linguistic barriers, marked by inadequate access to trained interpreters and culturally competent communication; and (4) cultural and gender-based obstacles, including stigma around mental and reproductive health and a lack of gender-concordant care. These factors operate synergistically to form a system of exclusion, disproportionately affecting vulnerable subgroups such as women, children, and trauma survivors. This review addresses this critical gap by synthesising the multifaceted and intersecting barriers experienced by RAS in India, and offer an evidence-based foundation for the development of inclusive, rights-based health policies and targeted interventions to reduce healthcare inequities among forcibly displaced populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) contexts.

 Keywords: Healthcare; Low-Income Countries (LICs); UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)

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Citation

Citation: Maurice Han Tong Ling., et al. “A 10-Year (01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024) Systematic Review on Healthcare Barriers Faced by Refugees and Asylum Seekers in India”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 9.11 (2025): 48-64.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Maurice Han Tong Ling., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.