Essential medicines for immediate care in refugee camps

Abstract

Adequate and safe treatment for everybody should be our aim, regardless of who the patient might be, e.g., whether he is a resident or migrant. However, there are specific issues that must be taken into consideration when looking at treatment for migrants. Pharmacotherapy, or indeed any intervention, should take their specific circumstances into account. These circumstances differ widely, depending on country of origin, country of reception, travel routes, or ordeals encountered before and during the journey. This accounts for the impossibility to propose a "one-size-fits-all" formulary. This chapter aims to map out these specific issues as well as general issues pertaining to dermatological pharmacotherapy in migrants. But before addressing these issues, the issue of medication as a cause of skin symptoms is addressed.