Colombia is home to about 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants, more than half of whom are undocumented and face barriers to accessing medical care, even as Colombia recently decided to grant nearly 1 million Venezuelans legal status earlier this year.
Direct Relief traveled to two Colombian border areas, Catatubo and Arauca, with Banco de Medicamentos, an aid group that is helping respond to the migrant crisis — which has been exacerbated during the pandemic — by delivering essential medicines and supplies requested by the UN’s International Organization for Migration, local foundations, and residents.
All photos by Oscar B. Castillo.
Migrants and daily workers carry goods along a path connecting Venezuela and Colombia, close to Villa del Rosario area in Norte de Santander Department in Colombia. This is one of the busiest spots for crossing between the two countries as the Simon Bolivar Bridge, the main connecting point in the area, has been closed for a long time.
A boat worker is seen waiting for passengers on the Colombian side of the Arauca River.
At San Lorenzo Hospital, a maternity care program managed by the IOM together with different organizations. Most patients are from Venezuela.
A 17-year-old from Venezuela waits for a health care appointment related to her pregnancy, in its eighth month. She has been living in Arauca with her partner for the last two years.
In the Monserrate settlement, near Arauca, a neighborhood predominantly inhabited by Venezuelan families, migrants take their kids to receive health care and medicines supported by IOM and partners including Banco de Medicamentos.
A 17-year-old at her home outside Arauca, after a visit from IOM staff. She and her mother migrated from Venezuela to Arauca to receive care for cognitive and physical development conditions she has had from a young age.
A migrant worker in a small bodega in the neighborhood in the periphery of Arauca where she now lives with her 17-year-old daughter who needs ongoing medical care due to different physical and cognitive conditions she has had since she was a toddler.
Dr. Wilander Moreno checks the condition of a three-year-old child from Venezuela living in a remote area of the municipality.
A team made of local doctors and nurses, members of Fundación de Palmicultores del Catatumbo, and a representative of Banco de Medicamentos organizing the stock of medicines and products to be given to patients visiting the health day at Three Bocas in Catatumbo.
View of an image of Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez, an important figure in Venezuela for his attributed miracles.
Aerial view of Arauca and the Arauca river that marks the border between Colombia and the Apure State in Venezuela for some 220 kilometers.
People moving between Venezuela and Colombia boarding boats on the Colombian side to cross the Arauca river. Migration and even visits have a particular pace determined by the Venezuelan quarantine, which is only open every other week.
A group of Venezuelan migrants walk close to an IOM site between Arauca area and Tame in Colombia.
A group of Venezuelan migrants help a farmer take out his motorcycle trapped in the mud on the road connecting Arauca and Tame in Colombia.
After walking for hours out of Arauca and on their way to Bogotá, a group of migrants stop to cook some food they received from inhabitants of the area and NGOs providing some basic assistance.
A group of Venezuelan young mothers with their children take a break close to an IOM center along the road connecting Arauca and Tame in Colombia. The group came from Valencia in Venezuela.
Migrants, daily workers and people working crossing a path connecting Venezuela and Colombia close to Villa del Rosario area in Norte de Santander Department in Colombia.
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Over 5,400 Venezuelans are currently living in the town of Arauquita, which also sees Venezuelans cross the border temporarily, just to receive medical care. During Castillo’s visit in April, 80 people were treated by IOM in the village of Monserrate, though regular access to medication remains a problem for patients. Some migrants said they plan to walk over 1,000 miles from the border to reach their intended destinations.
Across the Catatumbo region, villages face a host of disparate challenges. In the Campo Dos district, only one doctor is available to treat the entire population. There is also only laboratory testing once per week. Colombian health care staff have been hard to recruit to the area, and so most staffers are migrants.
The town of Tibú has a large indigenous Barí population, which numbers about 100. Here, access to preventative medicine is unavailable and locals report that access to health care, in general, remains limited, according to a Banco de Medicamentos report. Food insecurity remains an issue as well. Whereas in Campo Dos the most common problems are respiratory conditions, head trauma, malaria, cancer, and traffic accidents, in Tibú, tuberculosis, dengue, leprosy, and cataracts are among the most common diagnoses.
Elsewhere in Tibú, an elderly care center said they see people dropped off at the entrance so that families can avoid payment and that they also face difficulties sourcing the medications their residents need. Other health care facilities reported infrastructure-related problems, a shortage of doctors, and a lack of care for pregnant women.
Between April and July of this year, Banco de Medicamentos has delivered more than 1.4 million medicines and medical products to 47 hospitals in Colombia. The group supports institutions that help vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly, migrants, who now mostly hail from Venezuela and Haiti, and also respond to needs created by natural disasters such as flooding and landslides. The group also provides educational courses run by a university professor for hospital staff on topics related to pharmaceuticals.
Direct Relief supported Banco de Medicamentos with a grant to help them respond to the Venezuelan migrant crisis in Colombia and distribute free medicines to Colombian hospitals. Direct Relief has sent over $25.5 million of medical aid to Colombia since 2010.
