Forbidden From Getting Sick And Being Literate? Health Care And Education Opportunities For Undocumented Migrant Workers In Asia

Authors

  • Shinta Maharani UIN Ponorogo, Indonesia
  • Asmak Ab Rahman University of Malaya, Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Mohd Shahid Mohd Noh University of Malaya, Malaysia, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24269/ekuilibrium.v21i1.2026.pp93-107

Keywords:

Healthcare, Education, Undocumented Migrant Workers;, Asia, Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Migrant workers are considered vulnerable as they remain excluded from various social safety provisions. The Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed significant gaps in policy support for these workers in Asian countries. However, scholarly evidence is lacking in the international literature to guide policy, particularly on undocumented workers. This paper fills this void by critically reviewing emerging evidence on undocumented migrant workers' access to healthcare and formal education in Asian countries according to a comprehensive analysis of research papers released between 2002 and 2022. In total, 72 scientific papers were identified from Scopus, WoS, and Emerald databases. The qualitative research software Nvivo was used to analyze the final 10 studies (out of 72 indexed articles). The findings of the review exercise suggest that the government should develop policies and solutions for undocumented migrant workers to get healthcare and formal education opportunities.

Author Biographies

Asmak Ab Rahman, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Professor Madya Department of Sharia and Economics, Academy of Islamic Studies,  University of Malaya, Malaysia and Adjunct Professor at University Airlangga Surabaya

Mohd Shahid Mohd Noh, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Senior Lecturer at Department of Sharia and Economics, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, Malaysia

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Published

2026-03-03

How to Cite

Maharani, S., Ab Rahman, A., & Mohd Noh, M. S. (2026). Forbidden From Getting Sick And Being Literate? Health Care And Education Opportunities For Undocumented Migrant Workers In Asia. Ekuilibrium : Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Ilmu Ekonomi, 21(1), 93–107. https://doi.org/10.24269/ekuilibrium.v21i1.2026.pp93-107

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