Despite gradual signs of economic recovery and monthly negotiations with the troika, significant social ills continue to torment Greek society. Child protection centers often face serious problems in the midst of economic crises; in the case of Greece, serious obstacles are hindering the care of neglected newborns.
The majority of Greek children now “trapped” in hospitals have mothers or caretakers who are simply incapable of tending to them. In some cases, mothers have altogether abandoned their infants in the hospital. “These children are ‘trapped’ in hospitals,” notes Athena Charalambous, head of the Social Service Department of Alexandra Hospital. “The hosting conditions are bad compared to their actual needs. We are not an orphanage, we are a Neo-natal Care Unit.”
The longer they stay in the hospital, the greater the chances these children struggle with neglect and abuse. There is no proper accommodation for children older than six months, while sick and healthy infants are forced to share hospital rooms. “We need to find a solution. We are working with the ministry to find suitable intermediate, non-hospital units to host these children.”
The cruelest indication of Greece’s lingering economic fallout can be found in hospital wards filled with these abandoned children. On the one hand, welfare institutions have shrunk their capacity due to lack of finances; on the other hand, serious social problems faced by families devastated by the crisis have led to “an explosion” in the number of abandoned infants in maternity wards.
The crisis has seen a widespread increase in the the use of narcotic substances. For every nine women who leave their child in Alexandra Hospital, four are carriers of HIV, adds Charalambous.
Social Services are in charge of informing mothers about their choices. Frequently, the prosecutor decides to reconnect mother and child if the mother starts attending drug treatment programs, such as OKANA.
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