ATHENS/NEW YORK, January 23, 2020—In Moria camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece is deliberately depriving at least 140 children of adequate medical care for chronic, complex, and life-threatening diseases, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today, calling on the Greek government to evacuate all severely ill children for treatment on the Greek mainland or in other member states of the European Union.
"We see many children suffering from medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease who are forced to live in tents in abysmal, unhygienic conditions, with no access to the specialized medical care and medication they need," said Dr. Hilde Vochten, MSF medical coordinator in Greece. "MSF is in discussions with the Greek authorities to transfer children to the mainland for urgent medical care, but despite the fact that some children were screened, none have been transferred yet. The government's general unwillingness to find a swift, systematic solution for these children, including some babies, is outrageous—it harms their health and could lead to lifelong consequences or even death."