Since December 2023, Med’EqualiTeam has been working in the Thessaloniki region to meet the growing primary health care needs of asylum seekers, refugees and other vulnerable groups. With the suspension of several programmes, the closure of NGOs and the geographical isolation of new camps, displaced populations face many barriers to accessing health care.
Greece Context
From the summer of 2015, large numbers of people seeking asylum arrived in the European Union, fleeing war or misery in their countries of origin. Greece is one of the entry points, and this situation has turned Thessaloniki into a key area on the route, due to its proximity to Türkiye and the Balkans.
Until December 2022 many people in Thessaloniki were housed under the ESTIA II (Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation). After the closure of this program, approximately 10, 000 people were evicted from their homes, either forced into new controlled and remote camps or left without the assistance to find their own accommodation, increasing asylum seekers and refugees living in the streets in different cities.
In addition, the Greek islands like Samos and Lesvos continue to receive large inflows of asylum seekers, who are then regularly transferred to camps in northern Greece.
The Northern Greece Project:
Med’EqualiTeam operates in northern Greece to provide access to basic medical care for people on the move. Our actions focus mainly on:
- The establishment of free medical consultations
- Developing health education program
Medical mobile unit
People living in camps, whether documented or undocumented, are often unable to access adequate healthcare due to the isolation of the camps, the irregular presence of medical staff and barriers to access including the lack of provided translators and finances to travel into Thessaloniki for specialists.
In response to the camps’ geographic isolation, we operate a mobile clinic that moves to community centres near the camps to provide basic care to the displaced. We continue to develop our network to expand our coverage in hard-to-reach areas.
Job description for Medical Doctor volunteers
Please note: this is a volunteer based position, with no compensation offered.
Your main role will be to undertake primary healthcare consultations in different settings each day. Your main tasks will be managing acute health issues and a whole other range of healthcare needs. As of today, chronic diseases is not part of our scope so we refer patients with diabetes and high blood pressure, but a knowledge of management is helpful to assess and explain the patient.
Throughout your stay with us, you will have to be flexible and adaptable as we are constantly adapting our services to refugee needs. You will also be required to help with other tasks to keep the operation going, such as restocking the mobile units and other support tasks.
Requirements: experience and skills
- Ideally at least 2 years of experience in a broad specialty such as general practice, paediatrics, internal medicine or emergency medicine.
- Interest and knowledge of primary health care.
- Capable of adapting to a low resource setting, knowing how to deal with the frustrations that come with work in this kind of setting.
- Fluency in English.
- Availability of at least 2 full working weeks, ideally more. Preference will be given to applications with longer stays.
- In possession of a visa to volunteer in Greece/ EU Schengen area – Med’EqualiTeam cannot assist applicants in their visa applications!
Desired experience and skills
- Previous experience with working with displaced people.
- A driving license and experience driving a manual car.
- Knowledge of locally relevant languages (Greek, Arabic, Farsi, French).
How to apply
Applications will be processed on a rolling basis. We accept applicants to join us on the ground from as early as May 1st 2025 onwards.
To be considered as a volunteer on our team, please fill in the Medical Doctor application form on our website:
