Mexico City, Mexico, October 5, 2023 — As asylum applications in Mexico continue to increase, reaching nearly 100,000 at the end of August, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned of the growing need for humanitarian assistance, including in areas such as mental health.
Between January and August 2023, the IRC observed a 58% increase in the demand for psychosocial support services provided in the cities of Palenque and Tenosique compared to the same period in the previous year. Based on analyzed information that 201 people shared (out of a total of 1,800 cases attended), the IRC has identified the three types of mental health-related conditions most commonly reported by people on the move in southern Mexico:
- Stress, which was manifested by 44% of people participating in the program in 2023.
- Depression, identified in almost 30% of the participants.
- Anxiety, reported in 21% of cases.
Lisa McMunn, Deputy Director of Programs for IRC in Mexico, said:
"When a person is forced to leave their home due to factors such as violence, climate change and economic instability, they require support in different aspects to recover and rebuild their life in a place they can consider safe. Mental health care is an essential component in this recovery process, as it is a mechanism to help people overcome the difficult situations that may have caused the displacement, as well as those experienced en route and even as they continue the process of integrating into a new community."
The IRC in Mexico provides psychosocial support services to help people cope with the negative effects that conflict and forced migration contexts have on their well-being. Since the inception of IRC's Mental Health and Psychosocial Support program in southern Mexico, nearly 6,000 people have received direct services, participating in individual and group therapy sessions, psycho-educational workshops and community-based activities, addressing topics such as resiliency, self-esteem, life plans and violence prevention. Of the people who have participated in the IRC’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support program, 60% reported being from Honduras, 9% from Haiti and almost 3% from Guatemala.
The IRC in Latin America
The IRC is responding throughout Latin America: delivering a population-based response to the Venezuela crisis in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as well as through local partners in Venezuela; supporting populations at risk in northern Central America; and working along the main migration corridors in Mexico, from the southern to the northern borders. In December 2022, the IRC launched a response to support Haitian NGOs working in Port-au-Prince.