The number of arrivals at the border of Evros in the first half of 2018 exceeds 10,000 and has already exceeded the total arrivals of 2017, according to the Doctors Without Borders Greek chapter.

The organisation have started an initiative in the region of Evros northeastern Greece, on the borders with Turkey to address the growing medical needs of refugees crossing the border.

Those entering Greece have little or no access to medical services while being held at various hosting facilities until registration procedures are completed. Only the pre-Detention Centre has medical staff, while the lack of interpreters makes clinical assessment very difficult, DWB says.

The program, which has recently begun to be implemented, will last four months and offers basic primary health care to migrants and refugees in the Reception and Identification Centre in Filakio and other structures where needs exist near the Greek-Turkish border.
The DWB crew consists of a doctor, midwife, health promoter and cultural mediators.