By Emilija Dukovski, Project HOPE’s Finance and Administration Manager in Skopje, Macedonia
Current situation
As the weather gets colder the number of migrants and refugees transiting Macedonia has not gotten any lower than before. The average number of people transiting Macedonia per day only couple of months ago was 2,000, and today the average is 4,000-5,000.
Since June 2015 the official number of people issued licenses to transit Macedonia has been 102,753. The number of people asking for any kind of medical assistance per day is around 800 at both transit centers - in Gevgelija and in Tabanovce, Kumanovo. The more complicated cases are transferred to the general hospital in Gevgelija or the general hospital in Kumanovo.
Project HOPE Activities
Meeting with the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Jess L. Baily September 29, 2015
Project HOPE staff members based in Skopje, Macedonia met with the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Jess L. Baily. The one-hour meeting allowed the staff to introduce Project HOPE in Macedonia and the region, our collaboration with the government and actions we are taking in the current crisis with the migrants.
Meetings with Ministry of Health Officials
October 1, 2015
Project HOPE representatives met with Ministry of Health officials including the Refugee Crisis Coordinator and the Director, Sector of Donations and International Cooperation at the Ministry in Skopje.
They said that the Ministry of Health is exhausting its resources in medications and is asking for donations of medicines per the lists sent to Project HOPE earlier this month. They also pointed out the urgent need for additional mobile clinics at both transit centers.
Field Visit/Monitoring September 30, 2015
Project HOPE’s team in Macedonia visited the medical facility at the transit center for refugees located at the border between Macedonia and Greece where a portion of the first Shipment of Project HOPE-donated medical supplies was distributed. They spoke with a doctor, nurse and a technician from the ambulance in Valandovo, a nearby city. The doctor said that they started using Project HOPE’s donated supplies and are very satisfied by the quality of the products they received. The donated Tympanic thermometer makes their work much easier, especially with the pediatric patients. No such product was available to them prior to Project HOPE’s donation.
At the time our team visited the transit center, there were about 2,000 refugees waiting for the train to Kumanovo (on the border with Serbia). Women with babies, young children and men who were not prepared for colder weather are asking for clothes, food and medical assistance.
The transit center is being adjusted for the upcoming colder weather, and the military is preparing the ground for new tents, which only shows that no one expects that the crisis will come to an end any time soon.
HOPE Action Steps
- The second shipment of medicines and medical supplies is on the way to Macedonia by ship and should arrive in Gevgelija by the end of the month.
- The Project HOPE team is having weekly visits to the refugees’ transit center and the general hospital in Gevgelija and is monitoring the distribution of the first shipment of donated medicines and medical supplies.
- The team is coordinating daily with Project HOPE’s Development team in the United States and submitting of requests for donations of medicines and medical supplies.