News & Stories

In Libya, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to provide lifesaving and primary health care to refugees and migrants detained in the capital Tripoli.

During the first quarter of 2017, more than 4,000 medical consultations took place in seven different detention centers nominally under the control of the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM). Around 1,300 people in detention were treated every month via mobile clinics for conditions including skin disease, diarrheal disease, respiratory tract infections, and urinary tract infections.

Libya remains fragmented by ongoing conflict in several parts of the country. The insecurity, economic collapse, and breakdown of law and order make daily life a struggle for many Libyans, and for the hundreds of thousands of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants who enter the country after fleeing conflict, extreme poverty, or persecution in their home nations.

On September 19, United Nations (UN) member states came together to formulate a more “coordinated and humane approach to address large movements of refugees and migrants," according to the New York Declaration that was ratified today at the UN's Global Summit on Refugees and Migrants.

"Libya is a very dangerous place. There are a lot of armed people. People are killed and kidnappings are common. Arriving in Tripoli, we were locked in a house with 600 to 700 other people. We had no water to wash ourselves, we had very little food, and we were forced to sleep on top of each other. It was very difficult for my daughter—she fell sick many times. There was a lot of violence. I was beaten with bare hands, with sticks, and with guns. If you move, they beat you. If you talk, they beat you. We spent months like that, being beaten every day."