Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 30^th March 2022

Introduction

Good morning – On the 27^th March the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, accepted the proposal for the appointment of Secretaries of State presented by the Prime Minister-designate, António Costa. Included in these were the Secretaries of State under the Minister of Internal Administration José Luís Carneiro, namely:  Secretary of State for Internal Administration – Isabel Oneto and the Secretary of State for Civil Protection – Patrícia Gaspar.

In the case of Patricia Gasper she remains in the post she has held for the last two years and for Isabel Oneto it is a return to the post she previously held until October 2019. Both have considerable experience and Safe Communities Portugal has a long establish direct and productive liaison with them – thus facilitating our work.

The third Secretary of State who remains in post and we have close dealings with, is Rita Marques, but with an increased portfolio as Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services. We look forward to our continued collaboration with her.

The new Government is sworn in today at 1700 hrs.

Again mainland Portugal is being affected by poor air quality. This situation is due to the intrusion of an air mass from the deserts of North Africa, which transports suspended dust and crosses mainland Portugal, increasing the concentrations of naturally occurring inhalable particles in the air.

The DGS advises the population to avoid prolonged efforts, limit physical activity outdoors and avoid exposure to risk factors, such as tobacco smoke and contact with irritating products. Children, the elderly, patients with chronic respiratory problems and cardiovascular patients should, whenever possible, remain inside buildings and, preferably, with the windows closed. These dusts can have effects on human health, especially on the most vulnerable population, whose care must be redoubled during the occurrence of these situations.

Turning to the war in Ukraine – hopefully a sign of some breakthrough. According to the Turkish Foreign Minister yesterday, the negotiations – which were initially scheduled to continue this Wednesday, ended. Speaking on television, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the meeting (the first presidential meeting in more than two weeks) had made the most progress since the two sides began negotiating. According to the Turkish minister, understandings were reached on some of the issues. The Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers are expected to meet in the future to discuss “tougher issues”.

Following the meeting, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, was quoted by the Tass news agency, Russian forces will “reduce activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv”. The aim is to “increase mutual trust and create the right conditions for future negotiations and achieve the ultimate goal of signing a peace agreement with Ukraine.”

Following this came news that Russia is beginning to withdraw some forces from around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, in what the US assesses is a “major” strategy shift. US is already observing movements underway of Russian Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs) 1/. Whether this is a tactical repositioning eastwards due to the realisation that they cannot “take” Kyiv, or a genuine withdrawal, remains to be seen. Let us hope that this comes to fruition, thus advoiding countess more deaths and the displacement of the population. Despite this a Ukrainian news outlet is reporting “multiple explosions” in Kyiv this morning, a day after Russia pledged to reduce combat operations around the capital

Also of concern to the UNHCR is that people who have fled conflict, especially women and children, are particularly at risk of human trafficking and exploitation.  The longer a conflict lasts, the more vulnerable they can become as they struggle to start a new life. We need to take urgent and determined action to protect people and prevent them from falling victim to traffickers. People escaping conflict are in a very dangerous and precarious situation. They can be more easily deceived by phoney travel arrangements and fake job offers that lead them into exploitative situations. Traffickers are known to use such methods, as well as violence, to trick and coerce their victims.

Portugal is a very welcoming country, and has quickly established official processes to help refugees integrate into the community and are properly protected. The official government channels are here: https://portugalforukraine.gov.pt/and for immigrations matters: https://sefforukraine.sef.pt/

Nevertheless we ask people to be on the lookout for anything that raises suspicion that Ukrainians arriving here are being exploited in any way. This can be anything ranging from underpaid job offers, bogus legalisation or scams involving accommodation. If you become aware of anything then contact the appropriate authorities as soon as possible.

Please have a safe day.

Covid-19

Covid-19. Brussels warns of new crises with 100 million in the EU and refugees without vaccine

The European Commission warned this Tuesday of “possible crises” in winter with new waves of covid-19, at a time when 100 million people in the European Union (EU) are not vaccinated or are partially vaccinated and when Ukrainian refugees arrive.

“More than 72% of the total population of the European Union received the complete primary vaccination and more than half received a booster dose”, but “more than 100 million Europeans are still not vaccinated or are only partially vaccinated”, said today the commissioner European Health, Stella Kyriakides.

Speaking at the EU Council of Health Ministers on the humanitarian and health situation in Ukraine and also dedicated to covid-19, the European responsible for the protection warned that “the pandemic is still in Europe and infections are on the rise again”, so Member States have to “be prepared for possible crises”.

“We have to take into account the experts’ calls for caution. Covid-19 is not over yet and Ukraine and the influx of millions of people [coming to the EU] bring an additional layer of urgency to our work to ensure their protection with vaccination.”

Urging European ministers to prepare for the next autumn and winter, namely by increasing anti-covid-19 vaccination rates, Stella Kyriakides warned that “there is no place for complacency”

 

News

Targeted by Traffickers – Ukrainian Refugees at High Risk of Exploitation

One month into the war in Ukraine, millions of people, mainly women and children, continue to flee their homes. As long as the conflict continues, the risk of them being targeted by criminal networks grows.

The United Nations Office on Drugs on Crime (UNODC), the leading entity within the UN system to address the criminal elements of human trafficking, is supporting countries that are affected by the refugee crisis to identify potential victims and develop short and long-term strategies to prevent this crime.

Latest figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) indicate that around ninety percent of the over 3.6 million refugees from Ukraine are women and children.

“Evidence from conflicts shows that criminals profit from the chaos and desperation of war. Crisis increases vulnerabilities as well as opportunities to exploit people in need, especially internally displaced people and refugees,” says UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly.

UNODC is working closely with other UN and international entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and law enforcement authorities to coordinate responses to the current risks.

“People who have fled conflict, especially women and children, are particularly at risk of human trafficking and exploitation,” says Ms. Waly.

“The longer a conflict lasts, the more vulnerable they can become as they struggle to start a new life. We need to take urgent and determined action to protect people and prevent them from falling victim to traffickers.”

UNODC research has demonstrated how people fleeing conflict are vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking.

Portugal received 65 unaccompanied minors from Ukraine

Until Friday, 1,800 expressions of interest from Portuguese families were registered to welcome Ukrainian children through the platform created by the Government. Since the beginning of the war, 23,813 requests for temporary protection have been made from Ukraine, of which 8,511 are for children.

Platform for Refugees warns of convoys that bring unaccompanied minors without certified information about family members with whom to leave them.

Covid-19: vaccination certificate for minors no longer expires

Under the new rules, only Covid digital certificates from the European Union (EU) of those over 18 are now subject to a validity period of 270 days (nine months) after the administration of the last dose of primary vaccination.

Minors who have received at least the primary vaccination against covid-19 are exempt from the nine-month validity period of the European digital certificate, according to the new rules adopted today by the European Commission.

Under the new rules, only European Union (EU) covid digital certificates of those over 18 are now subject to a validity period of 270 days (nine months) after the administration of the last dose of primary vaccination.

For Johnson & Johnson vaccine, this means 270 days after the first and only injection. For a two-dose vaccine, it means 270 days after the second injection.

This relaxation of the rules is due to the fact that not all EU Member States recommend reinforcing vaccination for minors.

The exemption must be applied by each Member State – by adapting the applications that verify the validity of the certificates – until 6 April.

The EU Covid Digital Certificate is digital proof that a person is vaccinated against the disease, received a negative test result or recovered from Covid-19.

Extreme heat will cause more deaths in the future and extreme cold less.

The research, released this Tuesday, assesses the impact of climate change on the mortality of the population in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, having used “advanced models to quantify the effects of temperature on mortality”, in the short term (years 2051 to 2065). ) and long term (2085-2099), when compared to the historical period from 1991 to 2005.

It also includes studies “that incorporate prospective demographic scenarios into temperature-related mortality projections under current and future conditions (2046-2065), taking into account cold and heat-related mortality”, revealed the UC, in a press release.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Mónica Rodrigues, a researcher at the Center for Studies on Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT) at the University of Coimbra, explained that the research results show that, in future periods, “an increase in temperature is expected, both in summer and winter, with a higher frequency of heat waves, influencing mortality”.

“We found that extreme heat is the one with the most significant values. There is an excess of mortality associated with extreme temperatures, in the case of the summer months”, said the expert, stressing that, like low temperatures, “people over 65 are also the age group most vulnerable to heat”.

In the winter period and Portugal being one of the European countries “which has the highest mortality rate”, even with mild temperatures, mortality in the future “will be more accentuated with temperate temperatures and will not be so accentuated with extreme temperatures”.

Ukrainian doctors who do not speak Portuguese will be able to practice with a tutor

The Ordem dos Médicos (OM) is available to postpone the communication test in Portuguese for Ukrainian doctors who are arriving in Portugal, facilitating their integration into work teams under the guidance of a tutor. They are not exempt from the prior recognition of medical courses, which is carried out by Portuguese universities.

Miguel Guimarães, chairman of the OM, added that the proposal, already presented to the Ministry of Health, comes under the refugee equivalent status, which is being given to Ukrainians, and aims to “facilitate registration in the Order” so that they can integrate in the business market. The “figure of the doctor without autonomy” will be used.

In order not to jeopardize the integration of these doctors, having the medical course already recognized, what we can do is accept that they work as a team in the National Health Service, having a tutor doctor”, who must speak Portuguese and Ukrainian or English, if there is a good command of this other foreign language, specified Miguel Guimarães.

“That way, they integrate, learning our way of working and earning an income”. After “three or six months, depending on the circumstances, they take the Portuguese test and, then, if they pass, they are like any normal doctor with autonomy”, he added, stressing that this system takes into account the “protection of the quality of medicine and the safety of [sick] people”.

So far, the OM has received “two contacts from two Ukrainian doctors, who are here with their children and asked what they had to do to register”, said the chairman.

Health

Hospital administrators call for solutions for emergencies

The president of the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH) defended today that “structured solutions” are needed to solve the “chronic problem” of demand for emergency services, which is very high in some public hospitals.

“We have seen a very high growth in demand for emergency services in some NHS hospitals. It is also not surprising in the face of a chronic problem for which it is important to have structured solutions, which take a long time to be implemented”, Alexandre Lourenço told the Lusa agency.

The situation of patients who are discharged from the clinic, but who remain hospitalized for lack of social response, also contributes to this situation, another “chronic problem”.

“Often, emergency rooms are overcrowded for the simple reason that we are unable to transfer patients from the emergency room to the inpatient unit that is exhausted, because hospitals do not have the capacity to transfer patients who are in inpatient care to the community or to other institutions”, he explained.

APAH has requested “structured responses of integration” from the health sector and the social sector to find joint responses for these patients, which was what happened at the peak of the pandemic in which the social sector supported hospitals in this regard.

“It is necessary to have a structural response that does not depend only on moments of the covid-19 pandemic”, he said, warning that the health status of these patients worsens and they lose autonomy, and, on the other hand, families have less and less capacity to care for them at home.