On Monday, January 25, 373 migrants on board the Ocean Viking were disembarked in the port of Augusta in Sicily. The migrants had been rescued from three different small boats in the space of 48 hours.
36 migrants from Iran and Afghanistan, traveling from Turkey, were rescued off the coast of Lesbos on Sunday. The migrants were taken to Petra port on the island where they were tested for the novel coronavirus, and then taken into quarantine.
Pregnant and afraid, refugee and migrant women worry that they could catch the coronavirus when they give birth in Greece's public hospitals. But they have little choice.
Zeinab and her husband fled Afghanistan two years ago and arrived at the overcrowded Moria refugee camp in October. Eight months into her pregnancy, Zeinab sleeps in a tent on rough terrain, surrounded by what international NGOs and the EU have slammed as appalling conditions. Zeineb is scared about the future but tries hard not to be discouraged. InfoMigrants' reporter Holly Young spoke to Zeinab on Lesbos.
Mary is Ghanaian and several months pregnant. She lives in Hamburg, but she has no residence permit or health insurance – which could pose a risk to her and her baby. Many migrants without documents don’t seek important medical treatment because they are scared of being deported.
A highly pregnant migrant from Ethiopia currently residing in Germany is expected to be deported to Poland, where she had first filed for asylum. The case is considered to be a particularly challenging implementation of the so-called Dublin agreement.
Malta's armed forces airlifted a heavily pregnant Nigerian woman and her husband from the rescue ship on Wednesday. The charity-run ship is currently carrying more than 80 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.
Private rescue missions are increasingly facing rejection by ports in Italy and now Malta. One particular vessel, the Ocean Viking, is now prepared for all emergencies on board because of this — including pregnancies and births.
A pregnant Nigerian woman and her family who were rescued by Italian coast guard vessel Gregoretti are now being taken care off by a Catholic charity in Catania, southern Italy.
After the death of an unborn baby, criminal charges have been pressed against two employees of a security service for denying the pregnant mother necessary assistance and possibly causing her to lose the child. The reception center operators, authorities and Berlin’s senate have promised to investigate the circumstances.
Migrants arriving in Europe might assume that they are coming to countries with high standards of health care, and this is often true. But the reality, the World Health Organization says, is that migrants' access to treatment in these systems can be limited. Pregnant women migrants and refugees - and their babies - also continue to face much greater health risks than other women in Europe.
A report by a UK government immigration watchdog has revealed that many properties for asylum seekers are dirty, damp and infested with vermin. Inspectors also found that much accommodation is unsuitable, putting vulnerable migrants under further strain.