For the 16th consecutive year, HelMSIC in collaboration with Médecins du Monde – Greece organizes the “Chiron“ program, aiming at highlighting the barriers faced by socially vulnerable groups in accessing the healthcare system and raising awareness among medical students regarding these issues. 

According to the World Health Organization, all people should have access to health services whenever and wherever they need without financial barriers – this is the core of Universal Health Coverage, which HelMSIC has placed at the center of its activities for the years 2024/26. However, in practice, reality often falls short due to the economic policies of healthcare structures. In Greece, 35% of healthcare spending is covered directly by citizens’ income, while discrimination, geographical inequalities, and neglect of Public Health exacerbate the barriers.

The groups that are most affected are refugees and displaced populations, migrants, the poor, women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and residents of remote areas. Refugees and displaced populations especially face additional difficulties that include legal and bureaucratic delays, language and cultural barriers, as well as stereotypes from healthcare professionals. 

In this systematic gap, Médecins du Monde – Greece responds, offering free medical care, psychosocial and material support through their Open Polyclinics, actively defending the right to health as a fundamental human right.

Since 2010, HelMSIC, wanting to support medical students and future healthcare professionals, implements “Chiron“ in collaboration with Médecins du Monde – Greece. 

“Chiron“ consists of two stages: 

• An introductory online lecture, which presents the humanitarian work of Médecins du Monde, the barriers faced by vulnerable groups in accessing the healthcare system, and the role of medical students in providing healthcare to these vulnerable populations.
• A practical internship in the polyclinics of Médecins du Monde, through which medical students actively participate in providing care. 

Through participation in the program, medical students will have the opportunity to be trained and familiarized with the framework of providing healthcare to vulnerable groups, with low-resource medicine, as well as the implementation of a correct and human rights-aligned approach to patients.

As the 15th year of the program’s implementation comes to a close, the participants share their experience in the program:

“My experience with Médecins du Monde brought me closer to reality. To the real needs of people, as well as the difficulties and barriers (language, nationality, etc.) that they may face. Overall, it was a big lesson for me and I am very happy that I had the opportunity to live this experience.”

“It’s the best thing I have done so far as a Medical Student to approach the person-centered and humanitarian side of medicine!”

Greece, as a country that has welcomed over 1.2 million refugees since 2014, is called to respond to enormous challenges that are intensifying and multiplying. Within this context, “Chiron” offers medical students the opportunity to engage with reality, to understand the difficulties, and to participate in the solution. 

It is a fact that changes in such complex issues require time. Nevertheless, the continuous implementation of the program over the last 16 years proves that collective action, dedication, and ongoing education can shape a fairer and more human-centered medical community. 

Do you want to be part of this collective action?

Register here until 24/09!