By the end of 2022, there were more than 650,000 migrants in Libya, with 3,489 estimated to be in detention centres managed by the Department for Combating Irregular Migration, and between 2,000 and 5,000 in non-official centres scattered across the country.
Almost all people who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea pass through Libya. During 2022, the Libyan coastguard intercepted at least 24,684 individuals attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly returned them to Libya. This has resulted in an increase in the number of people arbitrarily detained in detention centres, often in violent, inhumane conditions.
Migrants and refugees living outside detention centres are exposed to life-threatening risks, such as being held captive by trafficking networks in clandestine jails. MSF teams provide healthcare to migrant communities outside of detention – including those who have escaped – in Tripoli and Bani Walid.
Mother and child in detention centre. (c) Creta / MSF
In Libya, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continued to provide essential healthcare for migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other people in vulnerable circumstances.
TB is another focus of our activities in Libya. In 2022, we supported the national TB program and also assisted with the establishment of the first isolation unit for the management of multidrugresistant TB (MDR-TB) in Misrata chest hospital.
By the end of 2022, there were more than 650,000 migrants in Libya,* with 3,489 estimated to be in detention centres managed by the Department for Combating Irregular Migration, and between 2,000 and 5,000 in non-official centres scattered across the country.
MSF continued to hear accounts from migrants who were subjected to multiple forms of ill treatment, such as physical abuse and sexual and gender-based violence. In addition, migrants reported arbitrary arrests and detention in inhumane conditions, kidnapping, forced labour, human trafficking and family separation.
Our teams provided basic healthcare, mental health support, and sexual and reproductive health consultations in health facilities inside detention centres and in urban settings. We refer patients to hospitals for specialised care. We also offered protection services, aiming to identify people with vulnerabilities and referred them to other organisations in Tripoli who could meet their specific needs.
During the year, the Libyan coastguard intercepted at least 24,684 individuals attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly returned them to Libya. At disembarkation points across the west of the country, our teams offered basic medical services, psychological first aid, emergency referrals and follow-up care. We also distributed food and hygiene kits. After November, we were unable to continue these activities, as permission was withdrawn by the authorities. However, our teams remain ready to respond in case of emergencies.
TB is another focus of our activities in Libya. In 2022, we supported the national TB programme and also assisted with the establishment of the first isolation unit for the management of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in Misrata chest hospital.
* UNHCR
Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Afghanistan since 1980, providing emergency surgical care, responding to conflict and natural disasters, and treating people cut off from healthcare.
MSF worked in Angola from 1983 until 2007. Why were we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Social violence/Healthcare exclusion
MSF worked in Argentina from 2001 until 2003. Why were we there? Providing essential medicines and supplies
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion Natural disaster
Cameroon is facing multiple and overlapping crises, including recurrent epidemics, malnutrition due to food insecurity, displacement, and conflict.
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Healthcare exclusion Natural disaster
The political, economic and military crises of 2002-2010 have taken a severe toll on the Ivorian health system.
MSF worked in Ecuador until 2007. Why were we there? Endemic/Epidemic disease Natural disaster
In France, we work with migrants and refugees, who encounter policies and practices aimed at preventing them from settling or claiming their rights.
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/heathcare exclusion
Haiti’s healthcare system remains precarious in the wake of natural disasters and ongoing political and economic crises. Ongoing disasters have led to Haiti becoming the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Honduras has experienced years of political, economic and social instability, and has one of the highest rates of violence in the world. This has great medical, psychological and social consequences for people.
An MSF team in Hong Kong opened a project at the end of January focusing on health education for vulnerable people. Community engagement is a crucial activity of any outbreak response and in Hong Kong, this focuses on groups who are less likely to have access to important medical information, such as the socio-economically disadvantaged. The team is also targeting those who are more vulnerable to developing severe disease if they are infected, such as the elderly.
MSF worked in Indonesia between 1995 and 2009 Why were we there? Natural disaster
Jordan hosts over 700,000 refugees, according to the UNHCR, many of whom reside in camps or have settled in the country.
Although health services are being progressively restored in Liberia, important gaps persist, notably in specialised paediatric care and mental health.
Libya remains fragmented by a decade of conflict and political instability. The breakdown of law and order, the collapse of the economy, and fighting have decimated the healthcare system.
Access to medical care remains very limited in the north and centre of Mali due to a lack of medical staff and supplies and spiralling violence between armed groups.
In Mozambique we are responding to emergencies including disease outbreaks, providing care to people with advanced HIV, while also working in the conflict-ridden Cabo-Delgado province.
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Providing comprehensive emergency healthcare to people in remote regions of Pakistan is a priority, yet accessibility and security are a constraint for both Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and patients.
At the end of 2007, MSF ended its activities in Rwanda after 16 years in the country. MSF's work included assistance to displaced persons, war surgery, programmes for unaccompanied children and street children, support to victims traumatised by the conflict, programmes to improve access to healthcare, responding to epidemics such as malaria, cholera and tuberculosis, and projects linked to maternal and reproductive health.
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence Healthcare exclusion
