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MSF has worked in Serbia since 1991, when the country was part of Yugoslavia. Since 2014, our teams have provided medical and psychological assistance for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

Today, Serbia remains a country of transit. Some migrants and asylum seekers reside temporarily in urban settings across the country while others are staying in informal settlements, sleeping in tents in abandoned factories or fields close to the border with Hungary, Romania and Croatia.

Our teams provide medical assistance and health promotion activities as well as distribution of non-food items to asylum seekers and migrants in northern Serbia, at the border with Hungary and Romania. 
 
As people attempt to cross the borders, many sustain injuries from falling off the fence or because they are beaten with batons or sticks by the border forces, as well as irritations from tear gas and pepper spray. We assist people stranded in appalling conditions and carry out medical consultations for violence-related trauma to document violence and to bear witness of such concerning practices. 

Our activities in 2022 in Serbia

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2022.

MSF in the Serbia in 2022 In 2022, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continued to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers, migrants and refugees living in precarious conditions in Serbia.
Serbia IAR map 2022

As thousands of people attempted to cross through the Balkans in 2022, in search of safety in other European destinations, our patients reported illegal pushbacks and indiscriminate violence by state authorities.

In Serbia, our teams assisted migrants and refugees living outside official accommodation, along the northern borders with Hungary and Romania. Through mobile clinics, we offered general healthcare and humanitarian support. We donated essential relief items, such as blankets and hygiene kits, and collaborated with civil society organisations in the region.

During the year, our patients included victims of physical and psychological violence, and forms of inhumane and degrading treatment reportedly perpetrated by border authorities. We also treated people whose health had been affected by freezing temperatures in winter, poor living conditions, and a lack of food, clean clothes, healthcare and hygiene facilities. 

 

In 2022
 
Transit Zone on the Serbia - Hungarian Border
Serbia

Sharp increase in violence against migrants since border closures in the Balkans

Project Update 22 Jul 2016
 
June 2016- Bourbon Argos Mediterranean search and rescue
Mediterranean migration

EU Migration Crisis Update - June 2016

Crisis Update 17 Jun 2016
 
Idomeni after the closing of the border
Photo Story

Trapped at Europe's borders

18 Mar 2016
Photo Story
 
Assistance for refugees in Serbia
Mediterranean migration

EU Migration Crisis Update - February 2016

Project Update 24 Feb 2016
 
On the Greek / Macedonian Border at Idomeni
Greece

Thousands stranded as new arbitrary border restrictions expose refugees to violence

Crisis Update 23 Feb 2016
 
Trapani Italy - refugee reception and mental health
Mediterranean migration

European policies dramatically worsened the so-called 2015 “refugee crisis”

Report 19 Jan 2016