The refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece, went up in flames, leaving many of the 13,000 refugees and migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan homeless – a problem exacerbated by the increasing number of patients testing positive for COVID-19.
The World Health Organization reached out to top doctors from around the world for assistance, including Prof. Elhanan Bar-On, director of Sheba’s Humanitarian & Disaster Response Center (HDRC). He arrived in Lesbos, the third largest Greek island, just before Rosh Hashanah.
All housing and medical facilities were totally destroyed by the fire. The Greek government is currently working with UN agencies, and a new large tent has been constructed.
“At the moment, we are in the last stages of inhabiting the new camp with over 9,000 refugees already inside,” said Prof. Bar-On.
Medical response teams from around the world have been mobilized.
“Several teams have arrived and established clinics that provide basic healthcare to the camp’s inhabitants and several more teams are on the way,” Bar-On said. “They will continue to work with local and international partners to provide care in the camp for several months until the emergency situation is resolved.”
