Mexico
Médecins Sans Frontières runs medical and mental health care projects across Mexico, focusing on migrants and victims of violence. In 2023, we also assisted the response to Hurricane Otis in Acapulco.
Our activities in 2023
outpatient consultations
individual mental health consultations
consultations for contraceptive services
victimes of torture treated
In May, the United States introduced legislative changes that severely restrict access to asylum, which had a significant impact on the number of people who ended up stranded at Mexico’s northern border during 2023.
Migrants continue to live in dire conditions, with little access to protection, shelter, water and sanitation, or medical care. Furthermore, many of them have been traumatised by exposure to violence, including sexual assaults, during their journeys. Despite this, Mexico recorded an unprecedented number of migrants last year, as both a transit and a destination country.
Through mobile and fixed clinics, our teams delivered medical and mental health services across the country, including in the capital, Mexico City, prioritising minors and women travelling alone, and victims of direct violence.
We also launched emergency responses in Viva México and Juchitán, Oaxaca state, and Arriaga, Chiapas state, when thousands of migrants arrived at the southern border. We provided them with basic healthcare, mental health support and clean drinking water. In Reynosa and Matamoros, more than 5,000 people were stranded in informal camps, with limited access to drinking water, health services or protection. Our teams adapted activities according to their changing needs, distributing items such as blankets, warm clothing and thermal sleeping mats when the weather turned cold, as well as food.
In our multidisciplinary care centre in Mexico City, we provided a complete package of care for survivors of extreme violence and torture, including medical treatment, mental health and social support. We also had teams based at the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance building, the northern bus terminal - where people were taking refuge - and six shelters in the city.
In November, we sent teams to assist people affected by Hurricane Otis in Acapulco and other nearby municipalities in Guerrero state. We conducted medical and mental health consultations and health promotion activities to detect and prevent the spread of diseases.