Belgium: Medications for the Poor | European Journal

The EU has declared 2010 to be the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion . In the EU,79 million people -- some 16 percent of the population -- live below the poverty line. In Brussels,the association Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) operates facilities for the homeless,asylum seekers and those without papers.Here people who wouldn't visit a regular doctor receive medical treatment in an unbureaucratic manner. In Belgium,doctors and nurses aren't obliged to report the patients they've treated. So here -- unlike in Germany -- illegal immigrants needn't fear that getting medical treatment will also mean getting caught.