Community workers sound alarm on mental health crisis for Venezuelan migrants

A new study reveals growing concern among community workers in Nariño, Colombia, about the lack of mental health support for Venezuelan migrants, especially those traveling without legal status. The study, published in PLOS Mental Health, comes as Colombia has taken steps to expand health care access to some of the 2.86 million Venezuelans in the country, including offering temporary protection status.

However, large numbers of migrants are ineligible for protection, particularly those with irregular status who can only access emergency services or limited humanitarian programs while discrimination and administrative barriers persist.

Led by GP Dr. John Fitton, the study was adapted from his Master of Public Health dissertation at The University of Manchester. He is now a Ph.D. student at University College London. Nariño, on the Ecuadorian border, is a major crossing point for Venezuelan migrants fleeing economic collapse, political instability, food insecurity, and breakdown of health and social services.

That and the physical and emotionally exhausting nature of the journey itself contributed to their poor psychological condition.

Dr. Fitton also says substance abuse—particularly among unaccompanied men in transit—may be seen as self‑medication for hunger, exhaustion and distress. Fitton explains, “Our findings show that community workers are doing everything they can, but the system in Colombia is simply not built to meet the mental health needs of people in constant transit.”

The drugs, he says, are cheap, widely available along routes, and may even be more accessible than food when resources are scarce.

The researcher interviewed frontline community workers, who explained how recent cuts in international aid to NGOs working in Colombia have intensified gaps in care.

The community workers reported that mental health services for irregular migrants in Nariño are now almost entirely provided by dwindling numbers of humanitarian and community organizations.

As the organizations start to withdraw through lack of funding, irregular migrants are likely to be left with no mental health support at all.

The community workers described how poverty, unstable housing, lack of transport and the pressures of constant movement make it nearly impossible for migrants to seek ongoing mental health treatment.

And there was, said Dr. Fitton, confusion among some health care staff about migrants’ legal rights and documents conflicting views on whether discrimination affects access to care.

“Our findings show that community workers are doing everything they can, but the system in Colombia is simply not built to meet the mental health needs of people in constant transit,” said Dr. Fitton. “We show a system under strain with community workers struggling to fill widening gaps in support.

“Caught between hunger, exhaustion and exclusion, some migrants slide into a brutal spiral: substances numb pain but deepen isolation, bar them from shelter, fracture their dignity, and leave a mental health crisis untouched.

“What begins as a will to survive has become a sorry tale of abandonment by systems and services.”