It takes between four and 10 days of walking to migrate north, crossing through the Darién jungle, South America's only land route heading north. People face extreme violence, with reports of people being robbed, beaten, raped, or even killed.
In April 2021, Médecins Sans Frontières started providing healthcare to migrants crossing the Darién Gap, a remote area of jungle on the border between Colombia and Panama.
MSF teams had been working in the migrant reception centre in San Vincente, in eastern Panama, providing medical and mental healthcare to people on the move. But in March 2024, MSF had been forced to suspend all medical activity for the migrant population in the Darién by order of the Panamanian authorities, who allege that we do not have a collaboration agreement in place with the Ministry Of Health.
Migrants making the crossing from northwest Colombia into eastern Panama often face brutal violence, and risk injuries from crossing the dangerous Darién Gap.
