Greece: assessing health-system capacity to manage sudden, large influxes of migrants (2015)

2015, vii + 20 pages
ISBN 978 92 890 5117 0

After increasingly large numbers of migrants crossed the borders of Greece, the Greek Government invited the WHO Regional Office for Europe to organize a joint mission with Greek institutions to assess the health system's capacity to manage such influxes. The mission took place in December 2014 and had three aims: to assess the ongoing preparedness and response activities of the local health system, to plan ad hoc technical assistance if required, and to pilot-test the WHO toolkit for assessing health systems' capacity to manage large influxes of migrants in the acute phase. The members of the assessment team visited first reception centres and pre-departure facilities, and conducted interviews with all key stakeholders. From the assessment findings, the team made recommendations for, for example, improving living conditions in migrant centres, preparing a national multisectoral contingency plan, and developing a harmonized health data collection system and a stronger policy on immunizing migrants.