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SwitzerlandMeditrina, a project launched in 2006 in Zurich, provides medical care to people excluded from the state system. In late 2007, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) decided to expand it by establishing contacts with the city’s communities of undocumented migrants. The new strategy, which also involved diversifying the medical services offered, was aimed at boosting attendance at the center. It quickly brought results: Meditrina staff provided an average of 120 consultations a month in 2008, approximately 60 percent of which were for new patients. Once Meditrina’s services had been diversified, people suffering from chronic ailments, such as hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, were able to gain access to the care they needed. To make the changes possible, the staff paid closer attention to the work done by mediators. The seven mediators belong to several communities of different origins, including Latin America, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. They form a direct link between Meditrina and the people who use the service. Thanks to them, the necessary trust was more easily established and the benefits were considerable. The medical work carried out through Meditrina revealed, as much for city officials as for local associations, how difficult it is for many people in Zurich to find treatment. The interest being shown by other institutions and associations makes the withdrawal of MSF and the handover of Meditrina’s medical and social efforts in 2009 a possibility. MSF has worked in Switzerland since 2003. |
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