Medical and psychosocial support to migrant/refugee children facing health and protection risks

Ιn the framework of the PEDIA project, "The Smile of the Child", implementing partner of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), ensures the medical and psychosocial support of 600 refugee and migrant children. This action aims to provide support to refugee and migrant children exposed to any form of risk and is implemented with financial contribution from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union.


In the framework of the project ‘The Smile of the Child’ is carrying out its activities from the 16th of March and will continue to do so until the 31st of December 2019.


More specifically the project’s activities are:

  • Support refugee/migrant infants and children (including pregnant or lactating women) with increased medical needs accommodated in apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki (e.g. provision of paediatric home treatment, medical and nursery care, physiotherapy, psychosocial support and counselling, assistance in medical consultations and examinations, training of parents on how to handle medical issues of their children, transfers from/to hospitals)
  • Prevention and response services to violence against refugee/migrant children via the provision of telephone counselling and/or direct intervention in the field (24 hours a day/7 days a week, free of charge) to minors victims of violence, smuggling, trafficking and missing unaccompanied minors, in cooperation with all the competent national authorities.

The Project is implemented by two specialized teams based in Athens and Thessaloniki. The teams set-up within the Project are staffed with qualified personnel (social workers, physiotherapists, pediatricians, psychologists and nurses) and are active in the places of residence of refugee/migrant families with children with increased medical needs (apartments).


The specially trained professionals (line operators), along with the assistance of interpreters, receive the requests and the referrals and activate all available services and procedures for refugee/migrant minors in need.


The beneficiaries themselves or the professionals/organizations/individuals can address the requests/referrals by calling the following numbers (24 hours a day/7 days a week, free of charge) or by sending an e-mail:

 

The project succeeds the successful implementation of the “Direct and Holistic Medical and Psychosocial Intervention for Refugee and Migrant Children in Danger in Greece” Project that was implemented by “The Smile of the Child” from the 1st of April 2018 to the 15th of March 2019 thanks to the funding of the European Commission's department for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).