<i>M&eacute;decins Sans Fronti&egrave;res</i> to provide medical aid to illegal immigrants

Médecins Sans Frontières (MFS), the international humanitarian organisation, has teamed up with the government to provide free medical aid to illegal immigrants reaching the island by the boatload.

Through a memorandum of understanding signed yesterday, MSF will this week begin operating through the presence of a field coordinator, two doctors, a nurse, a psychologist, a health promotion expert and interpreters to assist immigrants on their arrival and those in detention and open centres.

The one-year agreement, signed in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, is timely as Malta heaves under the strain of a growing influx of immigrants.

"The service provided by MSF will complement the services we are already providing. Their expertise and advice will enable us to be better equipped to deal with the increasing number of arrivals," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

This was in line with the government's mission to assist migrants seeking refuge and to provide them with medical treatment on arrival while protecting the local population from the risk of infection.

So far this year, about 1,600 illegal immigrants have landed on the island, about 600 more than last year, and Dr Mifsud Bonnici stressed the importance of burden-sharing among EU countries.

Antonio Virgilio, who is leading the MSF mission in Malta, said his staff will be identifying the vulnerable categories of immigrants upon arrival and assessing, among others, their mental, sexual and reproductive health.

The MSF team, which visited Malta last December, will be extending the same treatment to immigrants in detention and in open centres.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Malta wanted to send the message that it was a democratic and civilised country, which was facing serious problems because of illegal immigration.

He stressed it was not right for people to merely criticise and move on, when they could help, referring to situations where Malta had in the past been criticised for its policy on detention and the conditions within centres.

On Frontex's patrols, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said its operations had to be fine-tuned. "Thank you for your work but there's space for more to be done," he said.

On the subject of repatriation, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the government was working hand in hand with the UN's High Commission for Refugees to ensure immigrants were being returned to a safe country. In a matter of three years, between 2004 and 2007, a total of 2,777 immigrants were refused any form of status in Malta and returned to their country.