logo
Science Portal
Copyright © Médecins Sans Frontières
v2.1.5127.produseast1
About MSF Science Portal
About
Contact Us
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Copyright © Médecins Sans Frontières
v2.1.5127.produseast1
Medical and humanitarian harms of restrictive European migration policies | Collections | MSF Science Portal

Conflict, persecution, poverty, food insecurity and natural disasters—increasingly fueled by climate change—continue to drive migration globally. Yet many wealthy countries are doubling down on hostile policies to prevent people from seeking safety within their borders, thereby subjecting them to a wide range of harms.

In a newly-published report MSF focuses on European Union and member state policies that intensify exposure to violence, exploitation, risk of drowning at sea, disease, and lack of access to basic health care and shelter, both within European Union borders and beyond.

The Collection linked below presents this report alongside selected publications illustrating the broader context, based on quantitative studies and accounts from MSF patients and medical teams over nearly a decade of operational experience along the European migration route. From violent, squalid detention centers in Libya— where people intercepted by the EU-supported Libyan coast guard are forcibly returned —to perilous Mediterranean crossings in flimsy rubber boats and often abysmal reception centers and camps within the EU, it documents how these policies and practices further harm highly vulnerable people seeking safety and protection.

Collection Content

Technical Report
|
Policy Brief

Death, despair and destitution: the human costs of the EU’s migration policies

Benvenuti B, Marshall-Denton C, McCann S, MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières)
2024-02-21
2024-02-21
This report considers the health and humanitarian consequences of violent policies and practices on people moving along EU migration routes. It details findings from MSF medical humanita...
Journal Article
|
Research

Health conditions of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers on search and rescue vessels on the central Mediterranean Sea, 2016-2019: a retrospective analysis

Van Boetzelaer E, Fotso A, Angelova I, Huisman G, Thorson T,  et al.
2022-01-11 • BMJ Open
2022-01-11 • BMJ Open
OBJECTIVES
This study will contribute to the systematic epidemiological description of morbidities among migrants, refugees and asylum seekers when crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Journal Article
|
Research

A qualitative exploration of post-migration stressors and psychosocial well-being in two asylum reception centres in Belgium

Whitehouse K, Lambe E, Rodriguez S, Pellecchia U, Ponthieu A,  et al.
2021-08-01 • International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care
2021-08-01 • International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care
PURPOSE
Prolonged exposure to daily stressors can have long-term detrimental implications for overall mental health. For asylum seekers in European Union transit or destination count...
Journal Article
|
Research

Health of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in detention in Tripoli, Libya, 2018-2019: Retrospective analysis of routine medical programme data

Kuehne A, Van Boetzelaer E, Alfani P, Fotso A, Elhammali H,  et al.
2021-06-04 • PLOS One
2021-06-04 • PLOS One
Libya is a major transit and destination country for international migration. UN agencies estimates 571,464 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya in 2021; among these, 3,934 peo...
Journal Article
|
Commentary

EU migration policies drive health crisis on Greek islands

Orcutt M, Mussa R, Hiam L, Veizis A, McCann S,  et al.
2020-02-01 • Lancet
2020-02-01 • Lancet
Restrictive migration policies that deny migrants and asylum seekers their right to health—a fundamental right enshrined in universal human rights declarations and treaties since 1948—ar...
Journal Article
|
Research

"I prefer dying fast than dying slowly", how institutional abuse worsens the mental health of stranded Syrian, Afghan and Congolese migrants on Lesbos island following the implementation of EU-Turkey deal

Eleftherakos C, van den Boogaard W, Barry D, Severy N, Kotsioni I,  et al.
2018-09-05 • Conflict and Health
2018-09-05 • Conflict and Health
BACKGROUND
In 2015 and early 2016, close to 1 million migrants transited through Greece, on their way to Western Europe. In early 2016, the closure of the “Balkan-route” and the EU/T...
Journal Article
|
Research

"I feel like I am less than other people": Health-related vulnerabilities of male migrants travelling alone on their journey to Europe

Arsenijević J, Burtscher D, Ponthieu A, Severy N, Contenta A,  et al.
2018-07-01 • Social Science and Medicine
2018-07-01 • Social Science and Medicine
During 2015 and 2016, an unprecedented flow of approximately 800,000 migrants coming from Turkey towards Western Europe crossed the Balkans. Male migrants are perceived as being less vul...
Journal Article
|
Research

Syrian refugees in Greece: experience with violence, mental health status, and access to information during the journey and while in Greece

Ben Farhat J, Blanchet K, Juul Bjertrup P, Veizis A, Perrin C,  et al.
2018-03-13 • BMC Medicine
2018-03-13 • BMC Medicine
BACKGROUND
Since 2015, Europe has been facing an unprecedented arrival of refugees and migrants: more than one million people entered via land and sea routes. During their travels, r...
Journal Article
|
Commentary

Migrants caught between tides and politics in the Mediterranean: an imperative for search and rescue at sea?

Zamatto F, Argenziano S, Arsenijević J, Ponthieu A, Bertotto M,  et al.
2017-09-14 • BMJ Global Health
2017-09-14 • BMJ Global Health
Journal Article
|
Research

A crisis of protection and safe passage: violence experienced by migrants/refugees travelling along the Western Balkan corridor to Northern Europe

Arsenijević J, Schillberg EBL, Ponthieu A, Malvisi L, Ahmed AO,  et al.
2017-04-16 • Conflict and Health
2017-04-16 • Conflict and Health
BACKGROUND
Pushed by ongoing conflicts and pulled by the desire for a better life, over one million migrants/refugees transited Balkan countries and arrived in Europe during 2015 and...
Journal Blog
|
Perspective

What next for refugees after the demolition of the Calais camp?

Drogoul F, Hanryon S
2016-11-16 • BMJ Opinion (blog)
2016-11-16 • BMJ Opinion (blog)

See more collections

Snake envenoming: a neglected crisis

Snake envenoming: a neglected crisis

Every year 2 million or more people fall victim to snakebite envenoming, mostly in poor, rural communities of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Between 83,000—138,000 of them die, while hundreds of thousands more suffer debilitating long-term complications or disabilities.


Although some antivenom medicines are highly effective when used promptly and appropriately, many snakebite victims get no treatment at all. Those who do may receive antivenoms which don’t work against the type of snake that bit them, or were not rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness.


To mark World Snakebite Awareness Day on September 19th, the Collection linked below brings together recent MSF work on this highly neglected disease. Several articles and conference presentations help fill evidence gaps on the burden of disease and its impacts or on treatment outcomes with specific antivenoms in specific regions. Others examine how to tackle the formidable challenges of availability and affordability, the absence of regulatory oversight for making, testing and registering antivenoms, and the anemic R&D pipeline for new products—all of which impede access for patients to safe, effective treatment tailored to local snake species.

Humanitarian action & health systems (MSF Scientific Days International 2022)

Humanitarian action & health systems (MSF Scientific Days International 2022)
No description available
International Safe Abortion Day 2022

International Safe Abortion Day 2022
Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal death, and the only one that is completely preventable. Yet over 30 million unsafe abortions occur each year, leading to at least 28,000 deaths and millions of serious complications—nearly all in low- and middle-income countries. MSF teams see these tragic consequences first-hand, treating thousands of patients every year with severe, potentially life-threatening effects from unsafe abortion. So in 2016 we launched a program to systematically implement safe abortion care (SAC), starting with ten pilot sites and then applying the lessons learned to scale up at projects across the globe. This Collection presents highlights of these efforts. Since our first publication on the need to provide SAC as a way of reducing maternal death and injury, several studies assessed the role of unsafe abortion in driving this suffering in specific contexts. Others described internal obstacles to providing SAC, operational solutions developed, and outcomes achieved. And we advocated for shifting towards community-led and self-managed SAC, particularly given new obstacles that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic.
View All Collections
Medical and humanitarian harms of restrictive European migration policies

Medical and humanitarian harms of restrictive European migration policies