Our teams also provided medical and mental health care to people who had been victims of physical assaults, threats, and robbery by armed gangs in the jungle. Some patients had sustained injuries while traveling through the treacherous terrain, while others had developed skin, gastric, or respiratory diseases due to limited access to food, water, and shelter.
Among our patients, there were many vulnerable groups, including young children, older adults, and people with disabilities or pre-existing health conditions.
In 2023, 63 percent of the migrants crossing through Panama came from Venezuela, 11 percent from Ecuador, and 9 percent from Haiti. There was also significant migration from other continents, including 8 percent from Asia.
As in previous years, we publicly called on governments in the region to ensure safe migration routes and take effective measures to protect migrants from violence.
