Dutch send medical supplies to Greece to aid refugee effort

The Netherlands is to provide medical help to Greece to help it cope with the tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving in the country.

Ministers have agreed to supply nine mobile hospital units made up of two vehicles, generator, tents and medical supplies. In addition, the Netherlands will send sleeping bags, sheets and blankets, as requested by the Greek government, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Athens asked the European Union for €470m to help it cope with the refugee numbers.

Foreign affairs minister Bert Koenders said in a statement that Greece should not be left alone to deal with the crisis. ‘It is important that there is a European humanitarian programme for Greece,’ he said. ‘We must all help the asylum seekers who have been stranded there and support the Greeks in their efforts.’

On Tuesday, the UN’s refugee organisation UNHCR warned Europe faces an imminent humanitarian crisis, following a rapid build-up of people in already over-stretched Greece.

‘With governments not working together despite having already reached agreements in a number of areas, and country after country imposing new border restrictions, inconsistent practices are causing unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law standards,’ UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a press briefing in Geneva.