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The absence of the right to health of migrants in transit has evolved into a significant global health concern, particularly in the border regions thus, this study aims to improve knowledge in this area by exploring the effects of the spatio-temporal liminal characteristics at borders in the achievement of the right to health of migrants in transit moving across two of the most transited and dangerous borders in Latin America: Colchane (Chile-Bolivia) and the Darién Gap (Colombia-Panamá). Through a qualitative descriptive multi-case study, we implemented 50 semi-structured interviews (n = 30 in Chile and n = 20 in the Darién/Necoclí) involving national, regional, and local stakeholders. The findings highlight that the fulfilment of the right to health of migrants in transit is hindered by liminal dynamics at the borders. These dynamics include closure of borders, (in)securities, uncertainty and waiting, lack of economic resources, lack of protection to all, liminal politics, and humanitarian interventions. These findings surface how the borders' liminality exacerbates the segregation of migrants in transit by placing them in a temporospatial limbo that undermines their right to health. Our study concludes that not just the politics but also the everyday practices, relationships and social infrastructure at borders impedes the enjoyment of the right to health of distressed migrants in transit. The short-term humanitarian response; illicit dynamics at borders; migratory regulations; and border and cross-border political structures are some of the most significant determinants of health at these borderlands.

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BACKGROUND: In 2010, a political and social crisis pushed thousands of Venezuelans out of their country; today, seven million Venezuelans live abroad. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, border closure increased and affected specific vulnerable migration flows, such as Venezuelans trying to migrate to Chile through the Northern borders. In this context, there is little evidence of migrants' health status and needs, their access to health services, and other basic needs (e.g., housing) from a human rights perspective. Therefore, we qualitatively explored the effects of border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Venezuelan migrants' health and human rights, focusing on access to healthcare in the Northern Chilean border that adjoins Peru and Bolivia. METHODS: Following a case-study qualitative design, we conducted an ethnography that included participatory observation of relevant sites (e.g., hospitals, main squares, migrant shelters) in Antofagasta, Iquique, and Arica and 30 in-depth interviews with actors in the health sector (n = 7), experts from the non-governmental sector (n = 16), and governmental actors (n = 7) in three large cities close to the Northern border. RESULTS: We found four main dimensions: (i) border and migration processes, (ii) specific groups and intersectionality, (iii) barriers to healthcare services, and (iv) regional and local responses to the crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs characterized by the presence of healthcare providers in the field were essential to attend to migrants' health needs at borders. CONCLUSIONS: Coordination between actors is crucial to implement regional protocols that respond to current migration phenomena and migrants' health needs. Health policies using a human rights approach are urgently required to respond to migrants' healthcare needs at borders in South America.

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Health inequalities are broadly documented for ethnic minority groups and immigrants worldwide. Intercultural perspectives in health are thus developed in very different places and situations. Both the criteria for defining the target groups as well as the ways the health problems of these groups are looked at, are shaped by the particular local context. However, some challenges are common to almost all situations where the topic of ethnic diversity and health is considered. And in contrast to the rather novel term, the issues at stake in "intercultural heath" are not new at all. Against this background, the present article brings into focus three essential points: the necessity of defining ethnicity adequately to avoid stereotyping and the creation of new inequalities; the challenge of converting ethnicity into a helpful and thus "healthy" category in the field of medicine and health; and the need for the integration of explicit and serious reflections on medical ethics and human rights that provide for the normative framework and moral orientation of health activities with indigenous, migrant and other particularly vulnerable groups.

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Diversos estudios a nivel mundial señalan la inequidad en salud según categorías étnicas o asociado con el estado de inmigrante. La perspectiva intercultural se aplica, por lo tanto, en países y situaciones muy distintas, y los criterios para definir los grupos sociales enfocados tal como los planteamientos varían según el contexto local. Sin embargo, hay desafíos comunes que son relevantes en todas las situaciones donde el tema de salud y etnicidad se pone de manifiesto. Además, a diferencia de la noción interculturalidad, los problemas claves que comprometen, por ejemplo, la atención sanitaria para poblaciones indígenas o inmigrantes no son recientes, sino la historia es rica en experiencias previas muy significativas para la actualidad. Desde una visión global e histórica, el presente artículo pone a consideración tres puntos claves: la necesidad de definir adecuadamente a los grupos enfocados para evitar estereotipos culturales y la creación de desigualdades nuevas, el reto de convertir etnicidad en una categoría saludable y la reflexión explícita dela dimensión ética y moral, basada en la ética médica codificada y los derechos humanos.

Health inequalities are broadly documented for ethnic minority groups and immigrants worldwide. Intercultural perspectives in health are thus developed in very different places and situations. Both the criteria for defining the target groups as well as the ways the health problems of these groups are looked at, are shaped by the particular local context. However, some challenges are common to almost all situations where the topic of ethnic diversity and health is considered. And in contrast to the rather novel term, the issues at stake in intercultural heath are not new at all. Against this background, thepresent article brings into focus three essential points: the necessity of defining ethnicity adequately to avoid stereotyping and the creation of new inequalities; the challenge of converting ethnicity into a helpful and thus healthy category in the field of medicine and health; and the need for the integration of explicit and serious reflections on medical ethics and human rights that provide for the normative framework and moral orientation of health activities with indigenous, migrant and other particularly vulnerable groups.

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This article examines the work of the German-Peruvian physician Max Kuczynski/Máxime Kuczynski-Godard (Berlin 1890-Lima 1967) in rural areas of Central Asia (1924-26) and Peru (1938-48). The main focus of the text is on the scientific approach behind the specific interest of this pathologist in disease and health issues among native populations. Kuczynski's theoretical considerations are analyzed in the context of the wide controversies within the German medical community around a "crisis in medicine" when he was professor at Berlin University during the interwar years. Accordingly, his determination to leave the laboratory and to shift research and healthcare practice closer to rural populations proves to be the expression of profound epistemological and ethical considerations.

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Basado en un artículo publicado originalmente en 1924, se ofrece un acercamiento a los trabajos y pensamientos científicos de Maxime Kuczynski-Godard en los años anteriores de 1933 y su emigración forzosa de Alemania al Perú. El artículo se titula "Nuevas tareas médicas en la nueva Rusia", y recoge las experiencias de Kuczynski durante de su primera estadía en Rusia como profesor invitado en el Instituto Médico de Omsk (Siberia) y de la siguiente expedición médico-geográfica a la estepa kirguiz entre 1923 y 1924. Al ejemplo de la situación en la Rusia de la época post-revolucionaria, el entonces profesor de patología de la Universidad de Berlín describe aquí su visión de lo que podría ser la medicina científica del futuro. Como concepto clave, introduce la noción de la 'patología cultural' o 'étnica', entendida como ciencia médica integral que combina planteamientos y métodos tanto de las ciencias naturales como sociales y culturales.

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Expone las características de las enfermedades producidas por vientos fuerte o contaminados de alguna manera, particularmente aquella conocida como mal aire por los pueblos indígenas del Ecuador. Presenta las leyendas alrededor del tema, grupos vulnerables, síntomas y tratamiento, así como los ritos y creencias de la comunidad para prevenir la enfermedad...

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