EUROPEAN REFUGEE CRISIS – THE PUBLIC HEALTH DIMENSION
Accepted
28 March 2026
Available Online
15 September 2017
Abstract
EUROPE, AS WELL AS THE COUNTRIES IN SYRIA’S NEIGHBORHOOD, IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING AN UNPRECEDENTED INFLUX OF REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND OTHER MIGRANTS, HAVING TO FACE THE BIGGEST MIGRANT CRISIS SINCE WORLD WAR II. ONE ASPECT OF THE CURRENT REFUGEE CRISIS THAT RECEIVES LITTLE MEDIA COVERAGE IS THE NEED FOR HEALTH SERVICES OF THIS PARTICULAR POPULATION AND, AT THE SAME TIME, THE PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES FACED BY THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES ALONG THEIR ROAD TO SAFETY. PROVIDING HEALTH CARE FOR A POPULATION THAT MOVE S THROUGHOUT EUROPE, BEING PASSED FROM ONE COUNTRY TO THE OTHER, IS A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR EUROPE’S HEALTH SYSTEMS. THIS IS ESPECIALLY PROBLEMATIC NOT SOLELY FOR COUNTRIES HAVING TO DEAL WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF REFUGEES ALONG A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, BUT ALSO FOR COUNTRIES HAVING HEALTH SYSTEMS THAT BARELY RESPOND TO THEIR OWN POPULATION NEEDS. ARE MIGRANTS REALLY POSING A THREAT TO THE HEALTH SECURITY OF THE DOMESTIC POPULATION? ARE EUROPE’S HEALTH SYSTEMS OVERWHELMED? WILL MIGRATION CRISIS BECOME A PUBLIC HEA LTH DISASTER? THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WILL TRY TO ANSWER IN THIS PAPER.
Keywords
MIGRATION
PUBLIC HEALTH
HEALTH SYSTEMS
CRISIS
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