In Argentina’s northern most tip, a team of Argentine Red Cross volunteers are driving from San Salvador de Jujuy to La Quiaca. Along the way, they will set up a mobile humanitarian service point for migrants who use this route as they make their way south into Argentina.

Every week, the Red Cross teams travel between 1,200 and 1,400 kilometers, providing services all the way to the international bridge that links La Quiaca to the town of Villazón in Bolivia.

“They listen to our experiences and this makes us feel that they really care about us and that they want to help,"  said a woman who had received services from an Argentine Red Cross HSP service point.

By going to the migrants along the route and offering a safe space and life-saving services, the Red Cross teams are able to reach out directly to people who may not otherwise seek out services. There are now seven fixed and two mobile Argentine Red Cross HSPs, including the one in La Quiaca that was designed with support from the IFRC and with guidance from its HSP digital toolkit.

The van functions as a first-aid station and connectivity point, carrying relevant medical equipment and an internet connection so people can notify loved ones that they have arrived in Argentina. Teams there have computers, infographics and information (including on relevant services in destination cities) to help migrants and displaced persons orient themselves to Argentina. The van also distributes food rations and hygiene kits and works as a hydration point, distributing up to two litres of water per person. It also provides mental health and psychosocial support, particularly to children.

“Being able to maintain contact with the people is very important to guarantee their access to rights and to build trust with the population,” says one Red Cross staffer. “Without that, our work would not be possible.”

In the city of Agadez, in northern Niger, a pick-up truck brings health care and other services to people living in parts of town often referred to as the city’s ‘ghettos’. This is where many displaced people — migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and those sent back from Libya and Algeria — often end up living in desperate poverty and in poor health. 

The truck is fully equipped to provide medical care, psychosocial support, water and hygiene services, and to distribute non-food items such as hygiene kits.  The HSP works in partnership with public health centres, where people are referred for acute and specialist medical care.

“I wasn’t sleeping until I came to see the Red Cross,” said one migrant from the Ivory Coast who benefited from services of the Red Cross of Niger. “I felt like I was a zombie, but now I am feeling much better. I sleep well, I smile and I am hopeful.”

The cities of Agadez and Arlit in northern Niger are considered gateways to the Sahara Desert and have become a hub for migrants and displaced persons who often live in precarious conditions in highly overcrowded sites.

As the northernmost town in Niger, Arlit has been a point of arrival for migrants and displaced persons forcibly removed from Algeria and those fleeing the crisis in Libya. In 2018, recognising the growing humanitarian needs, the Red Cross Society of Niger started a new project to offer health services to migrants in Arlit.

But the team realized health-related services were not enough to respond adequately to the diverse humanitarian needs of migrants and displaced persons. Over three years. the team extended the project’s scope, until it developed into a fully-fledged HSP. Psychosocial support was added, followed by distribution of non-food items and, more recently, restoring family links services and protection and assistance for survivors of human trafficking.

“Thanks to Humanitarian Service Points along migration routes, migrants are not left alone, abandoned,” says one staff member Red Cross Society of Niger. “They always have somewhere to go when they are desperate.”

In the city of Poprad, Slovakia, there is a door on what looks like an ordinary storefront that is always open, particularly for people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine. Behind that door, a Slovakian Red Cross team — composed of a social worker, a case worker, a Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking liaison officer, an administrator and some volunteers — are ready to offer a welcoming hand.

Here, displaced people from Ukraine can get information on how to access legal advice, employment, education and healthcare. The team distributes hygiene kits, organizes safe referrals and provides mental health and psychosocial support.

Thanks to Slovak Red Cross donors, the HSP also assists with grocery vouchers. A cash-for-shelter programme provides financial support to displaced people who want to rent private accommodation as well as to Slovak families who host people from Ukraine.

This is just one of 15 HSPs the Slovak Red Cross decided to open across the country as it became clear that their initial spontaneous local efforts to help displaced people from Ukraine would need a larger and more long- term response.

“HSPs are known within the regions,” says one Slovak Red Cross staff member. “People know they can ask for help and reach them with their problems, whatever it might be – either with material support, school for children, looking for a job, or social counselling. I think it has a very good impact.”

Since the beginning of 2022, there has been a massive increase in the number of refugees, migrants, and returnees travelling northwards through Central America.

Many people travel through the Darién Gap, a dense and treacherous jungle on the land border between Colombia and Panama. The journey lasts seven to fourteen days and is perilous. Along the way, people face violence, dangerous wild animals, a lack of food and water and hostile weather. Some people are tragically killed or die from diseases due to the harsh environmental conditions.

Once through the jungle, migrants can access essential services at HSPs run by the Panamanian Red Cross. Those arriving tend to require medical care, hydration, and psychosocial support. Many of them are victims of aggression and robbery, and require cash, clothing, shoes and mobile phones to continue their journeys.

The IFRC and Red Cross Societies in the Central America region run many HSPs along this migration route. For more information, see our Emergency Appeal supporting people on the move through Central America.

And click here to read stories from some of the people who have crossed through the Darién (available in English and Spanish).

The Central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa (primarily Libya, but also Tunisia and Algeria) to Italy is one of the most active and dangerous routes for people crossing to Europe by sea.

Since July 2021, the IFRC has been operating a Humanitarian Service Point in the Central Mediterranean in partnership with SOS Mediterranée. Together, we're reducing human suffering and preventing loss of life through a fully able-to-assist rescue ship called Ocean Viking.

SOS Mediterranée focuses on the search and rescue side of the operation, while IFRC teams on-board provide humanitarian assistance (such as health and psychosocial support, food, water and information) to people rescued.

Since setting up this HSP, IFRC teams have helped save lives and provided essential services to thousands of people.

More information:

• Click here to read more about our response and humanitarian needs in the Central Mediterranean. 
• Click here to read all press releases and articles about this emergency.
• Click here to see real-time data on the operation—including the number of people rescued to date.

Humanitarian Service Points have been a key part of our Ukraine and impacted countries response since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022.

National Societies in Ukraine and neighbouring countries have all set up HSPs to help the millions of people who have fled to seek safety elsewhere. For instance:

• At the train station in Keleti, Hungary, the Hungarian Red Cross set up a HSP to welcome arrivals from Ukraine. There, they provide soup and hot drinks, sandwiches and fruit, as well as hygiene items and baby care products for people fleeing the conflict.
• In Uzhhorod, West Ukraine, the Ukrainian Red Cross is providing displaced people with medical and pharmaceutical services, social assistance and psychological consultations. Staff and volunteers also offer hygiene items, warm clothes, shoes and children’s toys for those who need them. Read more here.
• In Ubl'a, Slovakia, the Slovak Red Cross set up a HSP to provide a safe, warm place for people on the move from Ukraine to rest while they plan their onwards journeys. There's a child-friendly area where children can play, as well as free WiFi. People can also access first aid, psychosocial support, food and advice on transportation.

The IFRC is providing tailored guidance to these National Societies on the implementation of their HSPs, as well as promoting the transition from HSPs to long-term and sustainable support for displaced people as the crisis continues.

For more information, visit our Ukraine and impacted countries response emergency page.