Eurasia Press & News
Many migrants and refugees on the road to Western Europe have serious health problems – but for those staying outside official camps, especially, accessing proper treatment can be difficult.
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, fuelling fears about the spread of the infection and the collapse of overstretched health systems, for migrants, refugees and other people on the move, proper health care can be a distant dream.
Migrants and refugees taking the so-called “Balkan route” to Western Europe are an extremely vulnerable group in terms of health, various interlocutors and workers in the field told BIRN.
They experience poor hygienic conditions in squats and even in camps, are more exposed to diseases and injuries and can find access to healthcare services hard. Often they have to pay for the treatment they receive.
Even the slightest ailment, experts warn, can end with more serious complications if not treated in time.
Amine, a 31-year-old man from Morocco who is currently Bosnia on his way to Western Europe, struggled with severe toothache.
“My teeth were hurting because I was drinking cold water in the woods,” he recalled. “After that, I went to the [migrant] camp in Bihac [in northwest Bosnia] and a doctor gave me medicine. But it did nothing for me,” he continued. The doctor refused to remove his decayed tooth.
