Patient waits for a consultation in clinic run by MSF in Malta. The clinic was set up so that migrants and asylum seekers staying in open centres in Malta could have access to health care and psychological support.
MSF provides medical care, mental health support and health promotion activities to migrants and asylum seekers living in open centres in Hal Far and in Ta¿kandja detention center in Malta. MSF started working in Malta in August 2008.
Over the past several years migrants and asylum seekers have left the Libyan coast for Malta in search of refuge and/or better living conditions. Only in 2008, more than 2,500 migrants and asylum landed on the island, where they are systematically detained for as long as 18 months. In Maltese detention centres, poor living conditions impact upon their physical and mental health. After being released, they are transferred to open camps. Although they are allowed to look for a job and seek integration in Malta, life for migrants and asylum seekers staying in open camps remains difficult. Access to health care is limited and, for many, Malta is a place of no opportunities.