Commentary

“Leave No One Behind” and Access to Protection in the Greek Islands in the Covid‐19 Era

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9954646
AutoresApostolos Veizis (0000-0001-9249-0315, MSF Athens, autor correspondente)
Ano2020
Volume58
Fascículo3
Páginas264-266
Data de publicação2020-05-12
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.12721
PMID32518422
OpenAlexW3024904217
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas1

The ethical-legal perspective is inevitable when addressing the issue of migrants' health. It is clear that the recognition of the protection of health as a universal right, unconditionally held by every individual without the constraints of meeting specific requirements (such as citizenship or residence permit), is the basis of policies and of any possible forms of protection at both global and local levels (Marceca, 2017). Public health is defined as "the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society" (Acheson, 1988). Activities to strengthen public health capacities and service aim to provide conditions under which people can maintain, improve their health and well-being, or prevent the deterioration of their health. Public health focuses not only on the eradication of particular diseases but also on the entire spectrum of health and well-being. As the Resolution of the Sixty-First World Assembly of Health call "to promote equitable access to health promotion, disease prevention and care for migrants, subject to national laws and practice, without discrimination on the basis of gender, age, religion, nationality or race", there would be no public health without refugee and migrant health. 1 Today, almost 40,000 humanschildren, women and menare contained in the five centres for reception and identification on the Greek islands, which have a capacity to host only 6,095 people. Most asylum seekers in the island camps are from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and DRC. In Lesvos, 20,000 people are living in a space designed for 2,840, and in Samos, 7,500 people are living in a place designed for 648. 2 Up to the present day, we have not seen a credible emergency plan to protect and treat people living there in case of an outbreak. Evidence suggests that it would be impossible to contain an outbreak in the camp settings in Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos, let alone providing protection measures in line with the international norms

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Coronavirus Infections · Outbreak · Pandemic · Political science · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · Employment and Welfare Studies · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Virology