August 24 02:01 PM
Libya
MSF cared for thousands of migrants and refugees detained in dire conditions.
EU-funded Libyan Coast Guard obstruct MSF rescue operation
March 19, 2024: On March 15 and 16, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team on board the search and rescue vessel Geo Barents witnessed two violent incidents in international waters involving the EU-funded Libyan Coast Guard, which deliberately endangered the lives of hundreds of people seeking safety. MSF calls on the EU and its member states to immediately suspend financial and material support to the Libyan Coast Guard and stop intentionally fueling the forced return of people to Libya.
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Our work in Libya
In Libya, MSF provided essential health care for migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and other people in vulnerable circumstances. We also offered support for tuberculosis (TB) services.
What's happening in Libya?
By the end of 2022, there were more than 650,000 migrants in Libya, with 3,489 estimated to be in detention centers managed by the Department for Combating Irregular Migration, and between 2,000 and 5,000 in non-official centers scattered across the country.
How we helped in Libya
MSF heard accounts from migrants subjected to multiple forms of ill treatment, such as physical abuse and sexual and gender-based violence. In addition, migrants have reported arbitrary arrests and detention in inhumane conditions, kidnapping, forced labor, human trafficking, and family separation.
Our teams provided basic health care, mental health support, and sexual and reproductive health consultations in health facilities inside detention centers and in urban settings. We referred patients to hospitals for specialized care. We also offered protection services, aiming to identify people with vulnerabilities and referred them to other organizations in Tripoli to meet their specific needs.
How we helped
49,900
Outpatient consultations
4,070
Individual mental health consultations
340
Patients started treatment for TB
*Data from MSF International Activity Report 2022