Conflict and STIs

Conflict and emergencies can disrupt HIV services; however, the prevalence of HIV infection is generally low among people from the Middle East and North Africa. Hence, there is a low risk that HIV will be brought to Europe by migrants from these countries. Despite a decline during the past decade, migrants still constitute 35 per cent of new HIV cases in the European Union and the European Economic Area. However, there is increasing evidence that some migrants acquire HIV after their arrival. On the other hand, as many developing countries have a high burden of viral hepatitis, the increasing influx of refugees from highly endemic countries is changing the disease burden in Europe.

When migrants and refugees are on the move, they often experience disrupted or uncertain supplies of safe food and water, as well as poor sanitation conditions, especially under difficult and sometimes desperate circumstances. Border or arrival points frequently lack sufficient numbers of sanitation facilities and washrooms; drinking water is often not available in sufficient amounts; hand washing with soap and personal hygiene, including laundry, is often compromised. Waste bins and regular removal of waste in reception centres are insufficient, posing additional health threats, such as flies, mosquitoes and rodents, which find breeding places in these areas and can transmit diseases or their bites can become infected.

Refugees and migrants have a culture and a dignity that must be respected. They are not only individuals in need of help, culturally unable to get over a condition of misery. They are persons who have a lot to teach us in terms of solidarity, yearning for justice, and a wish to improve our society.

The 13th Symposium of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, which opened its doors last Thursday 19th May and took place in Athens, Greece, came to a conclusion on Monday 23rd May, after more than 2,000 participants benefited from a series of scientific sessions focusing on the latest developments in Dermatology and Venereology.