Project Report

Executive summary

From November 2015 to June 2016, Natan Disaster Relief and Ark-Terra designed and ran field medical services on Serbia’s southern transit route. We deployed and managed a 20-person medical team, stood up fixed and mobile clinics in/around the Preševo Registration Center, built an information collection & dissemination mechanism, and coordinated daily with Serbian authorities and the UN cluster. The clinics - staffed by Jewish and Arab Israeli professionals - provided thousands of primary-care consultations while addressing acute psychosocial needs in a high-throughput transit camp handling thousands of arrivals per day at the time.

At a glance

When/Where: Nov 2015 – Jun 2016 • the Balkans
Engagement: End-to-End Delivery (assessment → clinics → coordination & reporting)
Scope: Field assessment; fixed & mobile clinics; medical & psychosocial support; government/UN coordination; IM (information management)
Partners: Serbia Government, UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, NATAN International Humanitarian Aid, Humedica, local NGOs.
Impact highlights: Thousands treated (NATAN documented >2,700 in Preševo; peer-reviewed analysis shows 3,723 clinic visits Dec-Feb); daily inclusion in inter-agency health services alongside MSF/Humedica/NATAN; multilingual care improved trust and case resolution.

The challenge

In late 2015, the Balkans corridor saw sustained surges - UNHCR reported 3–4k vulnerable refugees moved daily to Preševo for registration - with winter weather, family groups, and rapid onward transit creating clinical, psychosocial, and coordination pressures on site. UNHCR Data Portal

Our role

Ark-Terra led expedition planning and day-to-day operations for the Serbia mission: staffing and logistics for a 20-person team; regulatory compliance; interfaces with the Serbian government and UN health partners; and real-time situational assessment and reporting to steer resources where most effective. (UN updates list NATAN’s clinic among the RC medical services alongside MSF/Humedica.)

What we did

Set up care points: Established a primary clinic inside the Preševo RC and mobile capability for overflow and night operations.
Deliver medical & MHPSS care: Primary care, wound/skin/respiratory treatment, dehydration/hypothermia mitigation; psychosocial first aid and referral
Information management: Built a lightweight system to track caseloads, symptoms, and referrals; integrated daily with inter-agency briefings.
Coordination: Aligned with UNHCR/WHO/UNICEF health and child-protection mechanisms; plugged into the RC’s transport and protection flow.
Community trust: Bilingual (Arabic/Hebrew/English/Serbian) mixed team improved history-taking and compliance; widely noted by media on site.

Triangle in action (Tech–Environment–Human)

Technology: Simple, reliable clinic set-up; cold-weather patient flow; rapid triage tools; IM for trend spotting.
Environment: All-hazards winter protocols; shelter/queue management; integration with RC logistics/transport.
Human: Multilingual care bridging cultural gaps; MHPSS; protection-aware referral of children and UASC via UNICEF/CSWs.

Results & impact

High-throughput primary care: Over 2,700 treated by NATAN in Preševo during the core phase; a peer-reviewed study recorded 3,723 clinic visits Dec 2015–Feb 2016, with visit volumes tracking corridor flow (r=0.343, p<0.005).
Integrated health presence: Listed in UNHCR daily updates providing care inside the RC with MSF & Humedica (e.g., 339 assisted that day across clinics).
Protection outcomes: Direct coordination with UNICEF/DRC/CSW for children and UASC ensured safe referrals and follow-up.
Evidence & storytelling: On-the-ground reporting highlighted the mission’s mixed Israeli team model and its psychosocial impact.

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