Across the world, the most vulnerable people are facing some of the most difficult circumstances, including war, extreme poverty, and famine due to climate change. The economic crisis triggered by the global pandemic has also motivated millions of people to leave their homelands in search of a better life.
The most vulnerable segments of this group cannot simply secure a visa and take a plane to their destination. Instead, they must resort to illegal and dangerous crossings or enter neighboring countries that are also mired in difficult conditions.
As a result of the growing migrant crisis, Doctors Without Borders (DWB) has expanded its programs along the most active migrant routes, including the following four.
The Darién Gap
Migrants traversing from South America to the United States must cross a dangerous area known as the Darién Gap. The gap, which lies between Panama and Colombia, is virtually undeveloped.
The jungle is too dense for infrastructure, so the Gap has become a lawless area inhabited by armed gangs and insurgents. Migrants who cross through the Gap face dangers from the elements and criminal activity.
Traveling the Gap by foot takes more than a week. While there is support and resources on both sides of the gap, once inside, the migrants do not have access to food, clean water, or medical care.
According to Panamanian records, more than 166,000 migrants crossed the gap in the first half of 2023, six times more than the same period in 2022. It is estimated that as many as 400,000 migrants could cross the Gap by the end of 2023. Additionally, migrants from outside South America fly into Colombia to try to enter the US through the dangerous gap.
Doctors Without Borders (DWB) operates a base in Bajo Chiquito on the Panamanian side of the Darién Gap. After emerging from the jungle, DWB volunteers provide immediate medical care and mental health support, especially for victims of violence and sexual assault. As of 2023, DWB has aided more than 30,000 migrants at Bajo Chiquito. A third of the beneficiaries are children.
The Mediterranean Sea
While the sea between Africa and Europe is a beautiful destination for tourists, for migrants it is an arduous and dangerous journey. The Mediterranean route is partially fueled by traffickers in Northern Africa, who load people onto these boats for exorbitant fees.
Traffickers prey on the most vulnerable people, who face the unbearable choice of crossing the sea or remaining in inhumane conditions in detention centers. Hundreds of thousands of migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean every year, often in unseaworthy vessels.
Tens of thousands manage to reach Europe. However, when these overcrowded and unsafe dinghies capsize, hundreds of people lose their lives in the water. In 2022 alone, more than 2,000 people lost their lives at sea. As the number of migrants increases, humanitarian organizations fear the death toll will also rise.
At the peak of the 2015 migrant crisis, DWB established a search and rescue operation on the rescue ship Geo Barents. Since then, DWB has partnered with other rescue organizations to coordinate efforts from a total of eight ships.
The ships search for distressed vessels and bring the occupants onboard. On the Geo Barents, migrants can receive much-needed medical care and psychological first aid.
Once in Europe, DWB connects migrants to reception centers, where they receive shelter, access to sanitation, and support with their asylum claims.
Unfortunately, political interference has impacted DWB’s work. In 2021, the Geo Barents was detained in Italy for rescuing migrants at sea. After six weeks, DWB resumed its search and rescue efforts.
Sudan
After a protracted war against South Sudan, Sudan signed a peace treaty in 2011. Violence returned to the African nation in 2023, starting in the capital Khartoum.
Thousands of Sudanese residents have sought safety in neighboring South Sudan and Chad. However, these countries are ill-equipped to deal with the sudden influx of war refugees.
DWB established operations in Khartoum, South Sudan, and Chad to support humanitarian efforts. DWB strengthened the medical response in Sudan by opening five medical centers to treat the injured.
In Chad, DWB set up a facility in the city of Adré. The health center will help provide care to the more than 100,000 people who have entered Chad due to violence. DWB also provides clean water and other types of humanitarian aid. However, as the fighting continues, DWB warns the need for support will increase.
Yemen
Although Yemen has been engaged in a civil war for nearly a decade, it is also becoming a destination for migrants displaced from other parts of the continent. By mid-2023, more than 77,000 people arrived in the country. Most migrants are escaping conflict, poverty, and violence in the Horn of Africa.
Because Yemen is too unstable to support migrants, charitable organizations have worked to return migrants safely to their homelands. DWB has established mobile clinics and dispersed medical professionals to care for both internally displaced Yemenis and foreign migrants. DWB also delivers much-needed water and sanitation supplies.