Greece is a key entry point for refugees and migrants making the journey to Europe. Fleeing countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, and Congo, thousands continue to risk their lives.
Médecins Sans Frontières has provided medical and humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees in Greece since 1996. Migrants and refugees continue to be the focus of MSF activities on the Greek mainland and the islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios.
MSF activities expanded in 2014 to meet the needs of the increasing numbers reaching the Greek shores from Turkey. Since the closure of the Balkan route and the EU deal with Turkey in March 2016, many have been prevented from leaving the Greek islands while waiting for a decision on their claim for asylum.
The asylum process is opaque; migrants and refugees have been left stranded, without access to basic services, adequate shelter or information on their legal status. Those who reach the mainland often live in inadequate conditions, waiting for their refugee status or relocation to camps or flats.
With the camp itself full beyond capacity, refugees are now staying in an informal extension of Moria known as Olive Grove. The awful conditions and arbitrary administrative situations have had a dramatic impact on their health. © Pantelia / MSF
Asylum seekers travelling to Europe experience the detrimental physical and mental health effects of prolonged detention, the lack of necessary care or interruption of treatment. MSF’s goal is to assist refugees in maintaining a basic level of hygiene, health and dignity.
Our attention is focused on Greece’s Dodecanese islands, where many refugees first make land in desperate conditions, and on the border with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The number of migrants arriving on Lesbos sharply decreased after the signing of the EU-Turkey deal. For those who have made the journey, the Greek government enforces a policy of containment, resulting in thousands of men, women and children in Lesbos living in limbo in squalid, overcrowded conditions, with insufficient access to health care.
Thousands of people, the majority of whom fled wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are detained behind layers of razor wire, locked up without charge, many beyond the maximum 25 day period, and in putrid spaces designed to temporarily host people for only a few days.
Moria camp is both unsafe and unsanitary, especially for children. Every day we treat many hygiene-related conditions such as vomiting, diarrhoea, skin infections and other infectious diseases, and we must then return these people to the same risky living conditions. It’s an unbearable vicious circle.
MSF deploys rescue teams to give first aid, distribute relief items such as meals, blankets, clothes and tents, and provide transport to people who need to reach the camps and medical facilities further inland.
A team organised outreach activities in Moria camp on Lesbos Island to identify specific vulnerabilities and mental health needs. The needs of the most vulnerable (namely children) are not being met due to a lack of resources. The demand for our sexual and reproductive health service is also increasing.
MSF has been running three clinics in Athens to respond to the specific needs of migrants and refugees. MSF provides sexual and reproductive healthcare, treatment for chronic diseases and mental health support. Teams have also started operating a travel medicine clinic to provide support to people moving on from Athens.
Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Afghanistan since 1980, providing emergency surgical care, responding to conflict and natural disasters, and treating people cut off from healthcare.
MSF worked in Angola from 1983 until 2007. Why were we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Social violence/Healthcare exclusion
MSF worked in Argentina from 2001 until 2003. Why were we there? Providing essential medicines and supplies
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion Natural disaster
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Healthcare exclusion Natural disaster
MSF worked in Ecuador until 2007. Why were we there? Endemic/Epidemic disease Natural disaster
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/heathcare exclusion
Haiti’s healthcare system remains precarious in the wake of natural disasters and ongoing political and economic crises. Ongoing disasters have led to Haiti becoming the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Why are we there? Armed conflict Social violence Healthcare exclusion Endemic/epidemic disease
An MSF team in Hong Kong opened a project at the end of January focusing on health education for vulnerable people. Community engagement is a crucial activity of any outbreak response and in Hong Kong, this focuses on groups who are less likely to have access to important medical information, such as the socio-economically disadvantaged. The team is also targeting those who are more vulnerable to developing severe disease if they are infected, such as the elderly.
MSF worked in Indonesia between 1995 and 2009 Why were we there? Natural disaster
MSF ended its operations in Liberia in 2012. Why were we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Providing comprehensive emergency healthcare to people in remote regions of Pakistan is a priority, yet accessibility and security are a constraint for both Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and patients.
MSF worked in Rwanda from 1991 until 2007.
Why were we there? Conflict Healthcare exclusion Endemic/Epidemic disease
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence Healthcare exclusion
