In view of the government’s failure to provide shelter to people seeking protection, and in order to address their increasingly unmet medical needs, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened a temporary medical clinic in front of the Immigration Office registration centre in Brussels in October 2022. Here, our teams witnessed a considerable number of medical issues directly linked with poor living conditions.

Through consultations, we identified the first cases of diphtheria among migrants in Belgium, a disease that can be directly linked to people’s precarious living conditions, but which is easily preventable through vaccination. As a result, our teams decided to launch a vaccination campaign to address the rising number of diphtheria cases among people living in squats and on the street.

We continued, in collaboration with other NGOs, to run our humanitarian hub in Brussels, where we provide psychological consultations. Patients needing more specialised care are invited to make an appointment with psychologists in our mental health clinic, which is located next door.

In addition, MSF outreach teams assisted people experiencing homelessness and migrants living in squats and shelters by providing medical consultations, health promotion, and infection prevention and control activities.