B. Infrastructure Facilities - Living conditions from the Xanthi military camp, once a day (between 13:00 - 14:30 hours), meals for the entire day, namely one portion of cooked food per person for lunch, one sandwich for dinner and cookies or a packaged croissant for the next morning. No fruit, salad or milk are provided. Private citizens regularly bring supplementary food and milk for the minors”. The progress of the State’s gradual response to the needs in food of the third-country nationals who irregularly arrived in Greece, is reflected in the announcements which the Hellenic National Defence General Staff has been issuing since May 2016 on a weekly basis.164 From 27 May 2016165 when it fed 22,792 people on the 5 islands and in 21 facilities on the mainland, up to 29 December 2016,166 when it fed 25,062 people on the 5 islands and in 34 facilities of the mainland, the State, through the involvement of the armed forces, appears to have improved its efficiency, at least with regard to nourishment.167 The Greek Ombudsman will continue to closely monitor this issue, stressing the importance of transparency, quality control and accountability at each stage of the process for the provision of food, in all the facilities, whether under State, local government or other agency control. The Ombudsman will request within the forthcoming period from the competent services the conduct and the results of systematic checks of the offered meals and the provided catering service, as well as detailed information on the award procedure followed and the monitoring of the proper execution of the contract. 3. Shortcomings in the supply of health services The provision of health services to the mixed populations of refugees-migrants during the 2015-2016 period appears to be partial and fragmented, rather than a steady primary care serving the purpose of prevention and protection of the good health of these populations. 164 http://www.geetha.mil.gr/el/briefing-el/other-info-el/5524-draseissygchrhmatodotoymenes-apo-e-e-gia-thn-prosfygikh-krish.html. 165 http://www.geetha.mil.gr/media/pdf-arxeia/2016/greek/ prosfigiko/20160527.pdf 166 http://www.geetha.mil.gr/media/pdf-arxeia/2016/greek/ prosfigiko/20161230.pdf 167 See relevant announcement of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff on 4 October 2016. http://www.geetha.mil.gr/el/briefing-el/press-el/5697diagwnismoi-sitishs-stis-domes-filoxenias-prosfygwn-metanastwn.html 52 The first link in the chain is entry into the country. While the law of 2011 required medical checks for all individuals irregularly entering the country, as a key component of the first reception services, this provision was never implemented from 2011 to this date to its full extent. In 2014, the Greek Ombudsman in its annual report (pg. 152, 154) observed that the workload claimed by the local hospitals or simply the mobile first reception units was not an adequate reason for not providing basic medical care to the new arrivals into the country and requested medical checks for everyone. The successive onsite inspections of 2015 and 2016 on islands such as Lesvos, Chios and Samos revealed that medical services are provided by NGOs contracted by the First Reception Service or the Ministry of National Defence, but only to those that request them. As a result there is no picture of the health statuses of all new arrivals into the country, and it was found that the health cards that are filled in for those that are examined by a doctor remain as a rule at the hotspots and do not always follow the individuals they concern in cases of their transfer, as they should. 3.1. Health services at First Reception For the people who entered the country before the 20th of March 2016 however, the rule was not to transfer them from the islands towards detention, but to grant them an official notice to leave the country within 30 days. When the borders closed, initially at the end of November 2015, and finally in February 2016 for everyone, 50,000 people were initially trapped in Eidomeni in unacceptable conditions as regards the protection of their health and their living conditions in general. During the first months of 2016 they were channelled into various temporary accommodation sites that opened urgently, under the responsibility of the army (Law 4368/2016 Article 96(1)), mainly in Central and Northern Greece. The Ombudsman’s main finding from the visits to temporary accommodation sites on the mainland in 2016, as regards the living and hygiene conditions, was a lack of uniformity in the conditions, which gives rise to legitimate questions regarding the selection of certain sites and the suitability criteria it was based on, for example the installation of tents inside an abandoned marble quarry in Halkero, Kavala. The provision of health services varied, and was based mainly on the offer of services by NGOs and in certain cases by a military doctor. 3.2. Health services at the accommodation sites