Serbia: Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support
Provision of Medical Response Teams to Support Refugees and Migrants in Serbia
March 18, 2016
N’Deane Helajzen
Summary of Activities
RMF helped with the provision of medical assistance including basic physical exams, diagnosis and provision of essential medications. Treatment of minor injuries such as wounds resulting from climbing over fences and other injuries sustained due to their journey. Provision of psycho-social outreach support. Assistance with translation and cross cultural communication. Distribution of food and non-food items.

Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Team Training
Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
Training for the medical teams was facilitated to ensure that staff engaged have an understanding of the historical and current socio-political context in which the project beneficiaries are fleeing their countries and to ensure that medical interventions are facilitated in a culturally and gender sensitive way.

Medical Aid
Providing Comfort
The provision of a medical team and medical supplies and pharmaceuticals have improved the comfort and eased the journey for vulnerable refugees migrating to Western Europe.

Emergency Care
Making Aware
The RMF team ensured that any emergency cases are referred to the closest medical center, that the train officials are aware of the respective emergency and prepared to stop the train, and in some cases an ambulance is available to transport the patient from the train to the closest hospital.

Background
& Objectives
Background
RMF has been responding to the refugee crisis in Serbia since January 2016, by providing comprehensive protection and medical services, including emergency triage, to persons of concern. Our teams work in and around the Belgrade city center and at Obrenovac Transit and Reception Centre, the second largest refugee camp in Serbia. We operate 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM five days a week at our mobile medical clinic located in Obrenovac, with a second medical team providing referrals for secondary and tertiary care institutions. From 2017 to 2018, we also provided services near the border with Croatia, operating the medical clinic at Adaševci Transit Centre from 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM, seven days a week.
Additional programs include a mobile dental clinic at Obrenovac Transit and Reception Centre—the first of its kind in Serbia—providing dental care for migrants, who previously only had access to emergency interventions. RMF Balkans also distributes hygiene kits at six camps throughout Serbia to help improve personal hygiene and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. To improve the residents’ quality of life, RMF renovated Obrenovac Transit and Reception Centre in 2018 and continues to maintain and use the renovated facilities to conduct cultural and empowerment activities.
Objectives
- Provide comprehensive protection and assistance response
- Provide material assistance and information
- Provide psychosocial support
- Provide translation and cultural mediation services
- Support existing medical institutions with capacity and mobility
- Establish an information dissemination hotline

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