Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has called for the release of its migrant rescue ship Geo Barents, which operates in the Mediterranean, after it was seized by Italian authorities following an inspection.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aims to get between 6,000 to 10,000 people vaccinated before the end of September. This week, the NGO launched a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in the Île-de-France region for the homeless and migrants.
A group of charities and NGOs has said Germany needs to take in more people from Greek refugee camps, which are notorious for being over capacity and lacking necessary facilities.
The search and rescue ship Geo Barents will launch a new operation in the Mediterranean, Doctors Without Borders has announced. The ship will reportedly have several rooms onboard to provide medical assistance to rescued migrants, including pregnant women.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has denounced in a statement that "administrative obstacles once again do not allow the Sea-Watch 4 to rescue lives while people continue to die in the central Mediterranean." The NGO said on October 23 that it fears that technicalities are being used by Italian authorities to block migrant-rescue vessels.
A study published by Doctors Without Borders revealed that a high percentage of people living in extreme hardship in shelters and workers' hostels in the Paris region had been infected with COVID-19. The medical charity recommends ending accommodation in gymnasiums.
Four NGOs involved in the rescue of migrants experiencing difficulty at sea have issued a statement calling for Italy to stop blocking their ships.
Doctors without Border (MSF) has called on the Greek and the EU authorities to stop their efforts to rebuild a "new system of containment for refugees and asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos, Greece" after a fire destroyed the notoriuous Moria camp.
Asylum seekers and migrants in reception centers on the Greek islands continue to be under lockdown although no COVID-19 cases have been registered at the camps. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says this is discriminatory, given that anti-coronavirus measures have been eased in the rest of Greece.
Over 11,000 refugees in Greece are at risk of being evicted from their housing and cut off from government cash assistance, according to Doctors Without Borders.
The NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking took on board 274 migrants in three rescue operations off the coast of Libya on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among them are reportedly 22 women and 64 minors.
Boats operated by non-profit groups have saved over 600 migrants in the Mediterranean within a week. Now, the 403 migrants rescued by the Ocean Viking have disembarked in Italy. Meanwhile, navy boats brought 77 migrants from the vessel Alan Kurdi to Malta.