US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on March 10 that Washington would slash 83 percent of its USAID-funded international aid projects. The decision is already having serious repercussions. In southern Mexico, the NGO Doctors of the World Switzerland has warned that it may soon be forced to cease operations, leaving thousands of migrants without critical medical care. FRANCE 24's team in Mexico reports. We also speak to Antoine Lissorgues, general coordinator of Doctors of the World in Mexico.
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00:00Organizations across the world have been left in a state of limbo after President Donald
00:07Trump ordered a sweeping freeze on foreign aid in January.
00:11In 2023, the U.S. was the largest source of foreign aid in the world, with USAID disbursing
00:17roughly $45 billion to international programs.
00:21The abrupt decision is already having serious repercussions.
00:25In southern Mexico, the Swiss NGO Doctors of the World has warned it may soon be forced
00:29to cease operations, leaving thousands of migrants without critical medical care.
00:35Our correspondents Laurence Cuvillier and Mathieu Coman filed this report for us.
00:45A quick reminder of the core principles of Doctors of the World is provided before consultations
00:50begin.
00:51We're outside a migrant shelter in Tenosique, near the Guatemalan border.
00:56Most of the migrants here have trekked thousands of kilometers in perilous conditions.
01:00Respiratory illnesses are common, along with tropical diseases like dengue fever.
01:11But many also need psychological support.
01:16It's mentally draining.
01:17Your mind races.
01:18So many people disappear along the way.
01:20I made the journey alone.
01:22People kept asking who I was, where I was going.
01:25I stayed silent.
01:30But with these brutal funding cuts to USAID, this lifeline is now at risk.
01:39We have a duty to our patients, stopping everything overnight, especially when we're treating
01:43severe cases that need ongoing psychological care.
01:46Telling them, sorry, we no longer see you, it's like abandoning them.
01:55From migrant support to combating gender-based violence and access to abortion.
02:00Many of the NGO's core principles now directly clash with the current US administration's
02:05political agenda.
02:08We had commitments.
02:10This was a project meant to run until 2026.
02:13To shut it down in 24 hours, to cut funding overnight, it's beyond irrational.
02:19Doctors of the World has been fighting for greater social justice for years.
02:23Now we're seeing the exact opposite.
02:25The entire system of international cooperation and solidarity is being undermined.
02:35The NGO has decided to continue operating using its own limited funds until the end
02:40of April.
02:41But without new backing, it's unlikely they'll continue much longer.
02:48For more on how the cuts at USAID are affecting the activities of NGOs in Mexico, I'm pleased
02:53to welcome Antoine Lisorgue, the General Coordinator for Doctors of the World in Mexico.
02:58It's such a pleasure to have you with us on the programme today.
03:01We heard a bit about your NGO in that report just there, but give us an introduction to
03:05the work you do at the organisation.
03:08What we do in Mexico, we have a mobile clinic.
03:12We have different kinds of intervention, migration population, migrant people.
03:20We have primary health care.
03:23We take care about different kinds of disease, but mainly skin disease, respiratory disease.
03:31We have another area of mental health care and health promotion.
03:37And one of the last and very important area is the gender-based violence management.
03:45We have a manager.
03:47We care of this case because on the road, we know that a lot of migrants are victims
03:54of sexual assault, sexual violence.
03:57So on top of the sectors you just mentioned there, the funding cuts also affect work in
04:03domains like human rights, anti-corruption and environmental protection, to name a few.
04:08Could you give us some concrete examples of how the cuts would impact the initiatives
04:13in some areas?
04:14Help us get an idea of the gravity of the situation.
04:17Yes, the situation is really difficult because on the road, people can be victims of a lot
04:25of stuff.
04:27We know that now the cartels, the traffickers are in charge, or people are in charge, traffickers,
04:37smugglers are in charge of the human trafficking.
04:41So it's really difficult, our intervention in this context, because we have to protect
04:50people.
04:51We have crossed a lot of countries.
04:54We are victims of, how I was saying, sexual assault or different kinds of problems like
05:05this.
05:06In a broader context, these foreign aid cuts not only harm individuals in Mexico, but also
05:11undermines the current administration's efforts to address issues like migration and crime,
05:16doesn't it?
05:17Sorry, could you repeat?
05:19I said, the foreign aid cuts not only affect individuals in Mexico, but also undermines
05:25the Mexican government's efforts to address these issues.
05:29Yes, the cuts are terrible because we have to, maybe at the end of April, we have to
05:37stop our intervention.
05:40And we know that in Mexico, it's difficult to get funds from the Mexican government and
05:53from other organizations.
05:55Now it's obviously a blow to humanitarian organizations, supporting refugees in Mexico,
06:01coming at a time when obviously new US border policies have increased demand for their services.
06:06But paint us a picture of what's the situation like in Mexico at the moment?
06:13The situation with the migrant people in this moment?
06:16Yes.
06:18Now we can see the flow is reducing because people now, it's difficult to go to the northern
06:29border of Mexico because with the new politics, it's difficult to cross the border.
06:37So many migrants that we care about are looking to go to Mexico City because in Mexico City
06:46they can apply for asylum, they can have more services, access to a job.
06:55So this is like a new dynamics, or other migrants want to go to or wants to come back to their
07:06origin country.
07:07So people want to return and they have contact with consulates.
07:15But it's really difficult because we have many people who have access to CBP-1 system
07:25to go to the United States.
07:26And now the government cancels this system, CBP-1, so they are in Mexico with any chance
07:34to go to the United States.
07:37And how are NGOs, including the one you work for, Doctors of the World, Médecins du Monde,
07:42coping in the face of all this?
07:44We heard in that report earlier that without funding it's unlikely that you'll be able
07:49to continue much longer.
07:51Yeah, really, we have funds from an agency which name is BPRM, Bureau of Population,
08:02Refugee and Migrants from the United States, it's part of the State Department.
08:08They cut our funds in 24 hours.
08:12So now we have taken a decision to continue with our intervention with funds of our HQ
08:25in Switzerland.
08:26But really, after the last week of April, we are not sure to have the possibility to
08:33continue with this project because we have to look for new donors.
08:38We are waiting for a response, for example, of the European Union from ECOW, the Humanitarian
08:48Office of the European Union, but nothing, it's really sure in this moment.
08:56And as we know, we have a lot of countries now, not just the United States, which are
09:04cutting in the international aid development funds.
09:09Antoine, unfortunately, that's all we have time for, but it's great to hear your thoughts.
09:13Thank you so much for your time today.
09:16Thank you for inviting me.
09:18You're watching France 24.