In 2019, there were 870,000 cases of measles reported – the highest number in nearly a quarter of a century – and nearly 208,000 deaths. The disease is extremely contagious, yet easily preventable with two doses of a vaccine. MSF has vaccinated over 30 million children against measles since 2006. Outbreaks are fuelled by weak public immunisation systems and low vaccination coverage, including in areas of conflict and among high numbers of people living in close quarters, such as refugee camps.
Closing safe and legal options for people to reach Europe pushes them further into people smugglers' networks. In Libya, the detention of migrants and refugees is a thriving enterprise of kidnapping and extortion.
MSF is saving the lives of people trying to cross the central Mediterranean Sea with our own search and rescue vessel, Geo Barents. We also provide assistance to people held in Libyan detention centres and those arriving in Europe.
The EU's migration policies are having a direct impact across the Mediterranean Sea while people are trying to flee dangerous conditions in Libya. Here are three ways that the EU's policies on migration impact on the lives of people trying to seek safety
