More than half of migrants are Venezuelan while a growing number are fleeing gang warfare and government collapse in Haiti.

On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, Marta Hurtado, urged the region to do more to tackle the rapidly growing humanitarian crises.

“The government of Panama has, with the support of the international community, built two migration reception centres in Darién province and one at the border with Costa Rica to provide shelter, food, healthcare and water and sanitation. However, the large number of people on the move has stretched the capacity of the Panamanian authorities on the ground to continue providing protection and to attend to the humanitarian needs of refugees and migrants,” Hurtado said.

MSF requested that international donors contribute to the humanitarian response and echoed Hurtado’s calls for regional governments to do more to protect human rights.

In April, the United States, Panama and Colombia agreed to crack down on the armed groups who traffic migrants through the Darién Gap and offer legal alternatives, but the Panamanian government said last week the situation had only deteriorated and blamed Colombia for failing to act and share intelligence.

Panamanian officials said they were launching an educational campaign called “Darién is a jungle, not a road” and is considering closing its border with Colombia entirely.