In the first month of The Hellenic Initiative Australia’s new collaboration with Doctors of the World Greece (MdM Greece), more  than 460 vulnerable people were able to access medical care at the Athens Open Polyclinic.  

The clinic conducted more than 750 consultations and interventions under the THI Australia program during June 2020, including medical follow-ups, social services and medical referrals.

Almost half the patients accessing the Polyclinic services were aged under 18.  More than 200 people, a quarter of whom had chronic diseases, received medicines as a result of their consultations and follow-ups. 

THI Australia’s 12-month program with MdM Greece is being supported by a €54,000 grant. It is expected to provide access to public health services for more than 2,800 disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals in Athens.

This is the first health program to be funded by Perth-based benefactor Dr Constantine Berbatis and his family, who pledged $500,000 to THI Australia in 2019, over five years, in support of public health initiatives in Greece.

We are delighted to introduce three of the project team members, George Mpakas (social worker), Zisimos Solomos (pathologist), and Christina Tsourou (nurse) who collectively have 18 years of experience at MdM Greece. 

Their passion and dedication was caringly articulated by Dr Solomos: “Helping on a daily basis the people that have no other way to access medical help motivates me to keep offering to society through my work, particularly during the pandemic, which has created new challenges for the vulnerable elderly people.”

More than 5,500 consultations, 1,700 medical assessments and 1,700 medical follow-ups will be conducted during the project, which began on 1 June 2020.

Doctors of the World has been operating in Greece for more than 30 years and offers a range of successful health services, including the operation of three Open Polyclinics in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, two accommodation centres for the homeless and women at risk, a centre of empowerment for children and adolescents at risk, and social and medical services on remote islands.

“We are very enthusiastic to be working alongside THI Australia in the effort to reduce the health care inequalities in Greece,” says MdM Greece President, Dr Charikleia Tziouvara.

(Pictured L-R: social worker George Mpakas, pathologist Zisimos Solomos and nurse Christina Tsorou)