Refugee children--a concern for European paediatricians

Many refugees, about 33% of them children, come to Europe from several different countries. Their somatic state of health is sometimes impaired and they have often been exposed to persecution, war and atrocities with consequences for their psychological health status. The period of application for asylum is often long and strenuous, both socially and psychologically. Their needs are often disregarded. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, European paediatricians should take it as their responsibility to provide health care for them at the same level as that for children of the host country.