KAVALA CAMP Official name: Coordinates: Nominal capacity⁵²: Operational/actual capacity: Residents: Beneficiaries of reception conditions: Beneficiaries of special reception conditions: Administrative staff: Medical staff: Ratio of residents to medical staff: Distance to nearest health services⁵³: Distance to nearest urban centre (Kavala): Kavala Controlled Access Facility for the Temporary Accommodation of Asylum Seekers / Ελεγχόμενη Δομή Προσωρινής Φιλοξενίας αιτούντων άσυλο Καβάλας 40.945418, 24.427842 1134 1039 913 541 113 13 7 130:1 2 km 3.8 km History Kavala camp, also known as Asimakopoulou refugee camp, was established on a former military site in 2016. The camp is situated on the periphery of the city of Kavala, in Northern Greece. The first residents were transferred from a camp located in Chalkero, a short distance from Kavala, which had been established in 2015. During 2016 residents were accommodated in tents within a large warehouse inside the camp but after the camp was reopened in May 2017, accommodation took the form of housing in buildings. IOM was present offering management support between 2016 and July 2023⁵⁴. In October 2019, the facility was expanded to double the capacity. In April 2022, 45 security and cleaning staff members were made redundant⁵⁵ due to a reduction in the camp’s population. According to information provided by CSOs⁵⁶, the camp’s structure currently consists of approximately 201 rooms of differing capacities in buildings and a limited number of prefabricated containers. Residents are accommodated based on their nationality, language, religion, special characteristics or on the basis of family status. During a visit to the camp in March 2024, the then Minister of Migration and Asylum Dimitris Karidis emphasised⁵⁷ the significant contributions of camp residents to local industries. Similar statements⁵⁸ were made by the facility’s manager in an interview in 2021. Conditions in Kavala camp are not covered in the Greek Ombudsperson’s report on reception conditions published in April 2024⁵⁹. 17