Towards better healthcare for migrant and refugee children in Europe

Excerpt

On a daily basis throughout Europe, paediatricians care for children and adolescents who have been forced to leave their home countries. The marked increase in the number of migrant and refugee children we are confronted with is unprecedented, and this challenges our daily practice and mindsets. In 2016, over 1.2 million people applied for asylum in 32 European countries, of which one third were children and adolescents below the age of 18 years [6]. Migrant and refugee children are particularly vulnerable and have specific health needs [2, 4]. These result from unfavourable conditions in their countries of origin, their flight from their home countries as well as new and unfamiliar surroundings in the countries of arrival [1]. …