personnel, which “[…] comprises only six nurses, one midwife, one psychologist, and one social worker. Medical screening is carried out by the RIS medical unit, involving nurses and periodic visits by doctors to the island. This arrangement means that medical assessments for newly arrived individuals are essentially unavailable, making it impossible to identify potential vulnerabilities. Furthermore, due to the lack of personnel, accessing medical assistance for residents is extremely challenging”, as noted by RSA.1056 Similar dire conditions were also reported in the Chios CCAC during 2024. There has not been a permanent doctor at the CCAC since 2021. According to the Reception and Identification Service’s response to RSA (as of November 11, 2024), “the facility employs six nurses, two midwives, three social workers, and two psychologists. Nurses handle medical documentation and forward it to a doctor who signs the medical records. Primary healthcare services are unavailable in the afternoons and on weekends, so even minor emergencies must be referred to the understaffed Chios hospital by police or emergency medical services. Psychosocial evaluations are nearly impossible due to the severe shortage of interpreters, who must focus on urgent needs (e.g. interpretation for the custody of minors).”1057 Additionally, over the last year, there has been a significant increase of arrivals in South-western Greece (i.e., Crete island, Gavdos island, etc), where no Reception and Identification Centers or any other form of migration/accommodation infrastructure exist. The authorities have proven unable to effectively manage the situation, leaving people for days or even weeks in miserable conditions and bypassing the reception and identification procedures provided by law or even arbitrarily submitting people to automatic detention.1058 In July 2025, following the Greek government’s decision to suspend access to asylum for those arriving to Greece from Northern Africa, in blatant disregard for international, EU and national law, 1059 newly arrived applicants to (primarily) Crete and Gavdos started being transferred to PRDCs, with no access to reception. As per GCR’s observations in Amygdaleza PRDC on 24 July 2025, newcomers subject to this measure had not received any information on the procedures to be followed, nor on the reasons for their detention. 2.3. Destitution Destitution and homelessness still remain matters of concern. As stated by UNHCR in February 2020, ‘[h]ousing options and services to cater for the present population are scarce countrywide’.1060 Though the population of concern has since been significantly reduced, following the termination of ESTIA in December 2022, this remained valid in 2022, 1061 2023 and 2024, amidst the sharp increase in arrivals. Following the challenges reported in 2023,1062 the situation of destitution persisted in Rhodes during 2024 as well. As reported in October,1063 hundreds of refugees and migrants continued staying and sleeping in makeshift shelters and on the streets, waiting for their registration and transfer to suitable reception places. Meanwhile, following increased arrivals to the Crete since 2023, severe material deprivation was further accentuated for newcomers during 2024 and 2025. Issues identified included the ad hoc use of improper facilities lacking even beds; limited provision of clothing and shoes and the use unwashed blankets, which often do not suffice to cover the actual needs.1064 A similar situation has developed in Gavdos, which likewise lacks any type of reception facility. 1065 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 RSA, Leros, 10 December 2024, available at: https://rsaegean.org/en/leros-2024/. RSA, Chios, 10 December 2024, available here. GCR Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee, Greece’s State Party Report, 142nd Session, 14 October 7 November 2024, September 2024. See Joint NGO statement, The unlawful suspension of access to asylum in Greece must be immediately withdrawn, 16 July 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2v83d4zk. UNHCR, Factsheet, Greece: 1-29 February 2020, 29 February 2020, available at: https://tinyurl.com/h7xz7584. AIDA, Country Report Greece: 2022 Update, June 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/45vXAir, pp. 179-181. See previous AIDA report on Greece, available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece/. NEWS 24/7, Ρόδος: Εκατοντάδες πρόσφυγες και μετανάστες κοιμούνται σε δρόμους και πάρκα, 24 October 2024, available here. NeaKriti, Chania: the migrant accommodation points at full – 187 persons in an open parking of the Port Authority, 10 March 2024, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/39x8dfk9. For the facility in Chania see here; For the facility in Heraklion see here. The Guardian, ‘Pushed to the limit’: the tiny Greek island in people smugglers’ sights, 27 March 2024, available here; see also H Naftemporiki, Μεταναστευτικό: Συναγερμός για τις εντεινόμενες ροές σε Γαύδο και νότια Κρήτη – Κυβέρνηση: Θα κάνουμε ό,τι απαιτείται, 14 March 2024, available here. 198