The country of Panama has given an order to the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to discontinue their services for individuals who have journeyed across the treacherous and rapidly expanding border known as the Darién Gap.
“One of the largest medical non-governmental organizations, MSF, operates in the perilous jungle region that links Colombia and Panama. The cessation of their aid would likely create a gap in critical healthcare services for at-risk migrants.”
MSF expressed deep concern over the impact that the halt of our operations could have on individuals making their way through the Darién Gap, according to a statement released to the press.
The Darien Gap spans 60 miles and is composed of wet rainforest. It serves as the sole land passage for migrants traveling from South America to the USA.
Over 500,000 individuals, including 113,000 kids, endangered their well-being by trekking through the rainforest on foot in the past year, a significant increase from the 24,000 total in 2019.
Emergency medical treatment is desperately needed in the region due to the serious health risks of walking through one of the most perilous and lawless regions on earth. At least 48 people died while attempting the arduous, week-long trek last year, the majority drowning in turbulent rivers.
NGOs like MSF most commonly treat migrants for aggressive fungal infections, acute malnutrition and diarrhea, but the organsation is increasingly focussing on the physical and mental treatment of survivors of sexual violence following a surge in cases in recent months.
According to experts, the Panamanian government has not taken sufficient action to address the issue of armed gangs operating with impunity on the border’s northern side. These gangs specifically target migrants for sexual assault and theft.
MSF is a prominent non-governmental organization addressing the rising humanitarian emergency in the Darién region and provided medical care to almost 60,000 people last year.
Panama has been instructed to halt its activities due to the anticipated increase in migrants migrating to Panama. This is a result of several arrests for human trafficking in Colombia, which have caused a buildup on the migration pathway last week.
The medical organization expressed deep concern for the effects that the halt of our operations may have on individuals traveling through the Darién Gap.
Organizations in the Darién region dedicated to promoting civil society express difficulties in keeping pace with the influx of individuals making the journey across.
Due to the suspension of services by one of the largest non-governmental groups in the region, the workload for medical staff will increase.
According to Bram Ebus at the International Crisis Group, the choice made by Panama to prevent MSF from functioning puts at risk the well-being and dignity of the most at-risk groups, including migrants, refugees, women, and children. These individuals have already faced major obstacles, such as crossing the dangerous Darién Gap, and this decision only adds to their hardship.
MSF says the order to stop its work in the region comes after the Panamanian ministry of health did not renew an agreement which the medical organisation said it has “tried, in vain, to renew since October 2023”.
Source: theguardian.com
