In 2017, we faced all that was left by the great social and economic crisis as experienced by our fellow human beings in our country. The most vulnerable social groups, the poorest and most marginalized, those at risk of total exclusion and the most extreme poverty. We have seen basic human rights such as the right to food, work, health care and housing called into question.
Rights that are crucial for this population, as poverty and social exclusion are directly linked to discrimination, unequal access to resources and opportunities, social and cultural exclusion.
Refugees, migrants, with or without papers, the long-term unemployed, the homeless, the Roma, and the newly unemployed are today beyond the spectre of deep and permanent poverty, facing the risk of a multiple and multifaceted social exclusion that has all the elements of a humanitarian crisis.
All of us at Médecins du Monde, through our projects (polyclinics, mobile units, shelters), doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, focused on defending these rights, not only with our action and physical presence, but also by strengthening our voice, arming our efforts with the necessary research and theoretical tools.
Furthermore, just in the past year Médecins du Monde has been called upon to treat and help a significant number of our fellow human beings through our services. In 2017, our Polyclinics alone were visited by over 62,000 people for medical services and medicines for which they had no access to the national health system.