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.
Comments