There are 70.8 million persons displaced worldwide due to war, persecution, and violence. Eighty percent of displaced persons reside in low-and middle-income countries with limited healthcare resources. Cutaneous diseases are commonly reported among displaced persons owing to numerous interrelated factors such as inadequate housing, overcrowding, food insecurity, environmental exposures, violence including torture, and breakdown of healthcare infrastructure. Diagnosis and management of these conditions, as well as an understanding of the context in which they present, is crucial to providing dermatologic care for displaced populations worldwide. Herein, we define displaced populations and, within this context, review the epidemiology of skin diseases, discuss pertinent skin conditions, examine challenges to care provision, and present approaches for improving dermatologic care. Inflammatory and communicable infectious disorders are the most common skin diseases seen in displaced populations. Other relevant conditions include skin manifestations of heat injuries, cold injuries, immersion foot syndromes, macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence. Provision of dermatologic care to displaced populations is hampered by limited diagnostic and therapeutic resources and specialist expertise. Medical screening for cutaneous disorders, context-relevant dermatology training, and telemedicine are potential tools to improve diagnosis and management of skin diseases in displaced populations. (UNHCR) estimates that nearly one person every 2 seconds escapes war, persecution, or terror, leaving everything behind. About 80% of refugees are hosted in low-and middle-income countries, which provide, for example, protection and space for refugee camps and for which the presence of large numbers of refugees brings a significant strain on the infrastructure. 2 Among the nearly 26 million refugees in 2018, 57% came from three countries: Syria (6.7 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), and South Sudan (2.3 million). 1 Their neighbors, Turkey (3.7 million), Pakistan (1.4 million), Uganda (1.2 million), and Sudan (1.1 million), are among the top refugee hosting countries. 1 Ongoing crises worldwide have led to internal displacement of 4.3 million people in Yemen, 3 flight of 742,000 Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh where many find themselves stateless, 4 and departure of an estimated 4 million Venezuelans 5 to other Latin American countries. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa host greater than 26% of the world's refugees. 6 Less than 1% of refugees transfer from the host country to a third country that has agreed to admit them for permanent resettlement. 7 For displaced persons, inadequate housing, overcrowding, food insecurity, environmental exposures, violence, and poor access to health care are constant threats to achieving and maintaining health. Cutaneous diseases are commonly encountered problems in displaced populations. Diagnosis and management of these conditions, as well as an under...
