“Every one of these life jackets has a history and a life,” he says.

So begins “The Refugee Journey to Wellbeing,” an interactive exhibit on display at the 2016 ASTMH Annual Meeting organized by ASTMH in partnership with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with colleagues at the International Organization on Migration, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the UN High Commissioner on Refugees.

The film captures poingant  scenes from the wrenching journey undertaken by just a sample of the 65.3 million people ensnared in today’s global refugee crisis. It then continues with mock-ups of refugee camp reception and screening centers to demonstrate how refugees are registered and then carefully and thoroughly assessed and treated for health problems before being resettled.

Martin Cetron, MD, (left, in photo) director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said the goal of the exhibit is to “reach the head and the heart,” to depict both the intense emotions of the refugee experience and to educate people about the extensive health screening and treatment that occurs before refugees resettle in the United States or other host countries.