Greece
Sea arrivals surged by 31 per cent compared to 2023, placing immense pressure on already poorly managed reception centres.
On the island of Samos alone, more than 10,000 refugees arrived in 2024, leaving the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) severely overcrowded and with only limited access to essential services.
Featured
Our activities in 2024 in Greece
Data and information from the International Activity Report 2024.
Ineffective public health policies led to the spread of diseases such as scabies and gastrointestinal infections, compounding the suffering of the people held there. In response, MSF ran mobile units inside the CCAC, as well as a day centre in Vathi, to provide people with essential medical care.
Arrivals on Lesbos fluctuated during the year, but still accounted for 20 per cent of the overall annual number. MSF provided multidisciplinary services, comprising basic healthcare, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and health promotion activities, as well as referrals for legal services, in Mavrovouni CCAC. We also coordinated a scabies campaign in the summer.
In 2024, the Dodecanese islands were the first entry point into Greece for 36 per cent of sea arrivals. Between August and December, MSF ran mobile units on Kos, delivering the same multidisciplinary support in both the CCAC and the public hospital in Kos city.
In Athens, our teams continued providing medical services for people on the move in the city and in three nearby camps. In September, we started to scale down this project by transferring our non-communicable diseases activities to the National Health System and Médecins du Monde.
MSF also responded to shipwrecks off Samos, Lesbos and Kos, offering medical and psychological care to survivors and families of victims. On Rhodes, MSF supplied hygiene kits, beds, and blankets to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers awaiting transfer to official facilities.
Throughout the year, we continued our advocacy efforts, calling for humane responses to migration, including improved access to healthcare and dignified reception conditions.
IN 2024
30,900
30,9
5,850
5,85
2,270
2,27
390
39
Migrating while managing diabetes, why access to insulin in pens must be available to everyone
My journey to Europe with diabetes: Ghassan Fakhri Jabar
My journey to Europe with diabetes: ‘Amina’
My journey to Europe with diabetes: Anis Al-Bahash