Help deliver urgent medical and mental health aid to people on the move.
Crisis on the border: urgent humanitarian issues in Mexico
The humanitarian crisis in Mexico and along the border with the United States has grown even more urgent with the rise of COVID-19 cases. Thousands of already vulnerable migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees now face a deadly pandemic.
Meanwhile, migrants and asylum seekers already in the United States are being deported to Latin American countries with lower rates of transmission, further fueling a public health crisis.
Delivering humanitarian aid in Mexico and along the border
Doctors Without Borders teams are on the ground in Mexico addressing this humanitarian crisis by opening COVID-19 treatment centers in border cities. We are also actively working in shelters, hostels, hotels, and community kitchens at key locations throughout migration routes in Mexico to:
- provide medical and psychological care, including specialized care for victims of sexual violence,
- educate staff and residents on best practices to prevent COVID-19 transmission, and
- install clean water basins and taps and provide cleaning materials and personal protective equipment.
Because many of the people we treat remain in transit, we operate a phone line to remotely provide mental health care to survivors of violence and emotional trauma.
Background on the humanitarian crisis in Mexico
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people flee from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), which includes El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Facing extortion, forced gang recruitment, and homicide rates that rival those in war zones, many have no choice but to flee.
Countries in the NTCA have high levels of social inequality, political instability, and conflict. The past decade has seen an explosion of transnational crime, including drug and human trafficking. Civilians are caught in the crossfire, facing an ever-present threat of violence.
- 61.9 percent of patients we treat say they were exposed to a violent situation during the two years prior to leaving their home country
- More than 75 percent of people traveling with children report leaving due to violence, including forced recruitment by gangs
The majority of those who flee their home countries encounter more violence along the migration route through Mexico: Over 57 percent say they were exposed to some type of violence, including sexual assault, torture, or extortion.
Harsh new US policies force those applying for asylum to remain in Mexico where they are often repeatedly targeted by criminal groups for kidnapping and extortion. In a single month, 75 percent of our patients who were deportees from the US to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico had recently been kidnapped.
These harsh new policies come alongside an uptick in the number of women, children, and families seeking asylum and attempting to make this dangerous journey through Mexico.
The past and future of delivering humanitarian aid in Mexico
Our teams have been providing medical and mental health care to migrants and refugees along migration routes in Mexico since January 2013.
From 2015 to late 2019, we provided more than 42,000 medical consultations and more than 11,000 mental health consultations. Doctors Without Borders is committed to doing everything we can to reach those who need medical and mental health care.
We are also calling on leadership in US and Mexico to address this humanitarian crisis by ending migration policies that further endanger the lives of those already vulnerable.
Learn more about how to support Doctors Without Borders as we provide care to refugees and migrants along the border as well as and others in urgent need of medical aid.