Health of refugees

Author: Karim Moutchou

Institution: Medical Student, Fez Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy

Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yasuhiro Kotera., Yuki Senoo

Geographically, Morocco is the closest African country to Europe. In fact, two Spanish cities—Ceuta and Melilla—are in Africa, in the northern region of Morocco, yet they are a part of European Union territory. Heavily guarded walls separate the 2 cities from Morocco. Additionally, the distance between the mainland and the far south of Spain is only 14 km through the Mediterranean Sea.

This proximity has made Spain one of the largest receivers of refugees from African countries or Arab regions suffering from humanitarian crises, like Syria and Yemen.

It is hard to go a few hundred meters in the streets of Morocco without seeing a refugee, if not more, begging for money in the street. Morocco has historically been a country of a passage from the sub-Saharan countries to Europe. However, the hard anti-immigration techniques and laws imposed by the European Union have made Morocco a destination and not just a quick stop like it used to be.

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