Children in the EU-funded refugee camp in Greece suffer from inadequate nutrition
The Non-Governmental Organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced the discovery of cases of malnourished children in a migrant camp on Samos, Greece, funded by the EU. This camp on Samos Island is among the areas criticized by human rights groups for its dangerous living conditions.
MSF doctors identified six children aged six months to six years from Syria and Afghanistan suffering from acute malnutrition, requiring urgent medical intervention. While it is not definitively known if the children’s malnutrition directly stems from the camp conditions, MSF highlighted that factors like inadequate food and healthcare services in the camp threaten the children’s health. MSF also reported that the six malnourished children arrived at the camp this year and called on Greece and the EU to provide adequate child health services and nutritional support, urging the resumption of financial support suspended in June. Christina Psarra, MSF’s General Director in Greece, emphasized the quarter of camp residents being children and appealed for immediate action, stating, “No child should suffer from inadequate nutrition due to systematic neglect.”
GREECE: CASES SEEN AS ISOLATED
The Greek Ministry of Migration defended the isolated nature of the cases, stating that refugees receive three meals a day and denying a general malnutrition situation due to camp conditions. Greece, which stood at the forefront of the 2015-2016 migration crisis in Europe, saw a new influx of refugees in 2024 according to UN data. This year, about one-third of migrants from the Middle East and Africa reaching Southern Europe arrived in Greece.
CAMP FINANCED BY THE EU
The Samos camp, funded by the European Union, opened in 2021 to replace the overcrowded tent city of Vathy, once inhabited by 7,000 people and overrun by mice. The International Amnesty Organization previously described conditions at the camp during crowded times as “inhumane and degrading.” Additionally, a UN human rights expert accused Greece of failing to identify victims of human trafficking in the camp.
