Public health aspects of a refugee camp

The explosion in the number of refugees throughout the world has led to the development of a new medical speciality; Migration Medicine. Such a speciality has a strong public health dimension. Addressing the public health needs of refugees especially in developing countries is one of the few challenges of practising public medicine which gives measurable results in weeks rather than years. Whilst I was a trainee in Public Health Medicine in Glasgow, UK, I was seconded to Medecins Sans Frontières ('doctors without borders') to act as Medical Co-ordinator of a relief operation for refugees from Sudan. This paper discusses some of the lessons that the experience taught me which have application to many refugee situations throughout the world.