Border Protection Monitoring, 2022 - 2023

Panama, 2022 - 2023

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Reference ID

UNHCR_PAN_2023_BPM_v2.1

Producer(s)

UNHCR

Collections

Americas Protection Monitoring

Metadata

Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON

Study website

Created on

Aug 16, 2023

Last modified

Aug 17, 2023

Page views

631

Identification

Survey ID Number

UNHCR_PAN_2023_BPM_v2.1

Title

Border Protection Monitoring, 2022 - 2023

Country

Name	Country code
Panama	PAN

Abstract

Darien is Panama’s largest and poorest province. Bordering Colombia, the province hosts a 60-mile-deep jungle, the only breaking point of the Pan-American Highway, linking the continent from south to north. Darien is a transit location for thousands of refugees and migrants, most of them coming from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and African and South Asian nations.
According to official statistics of the Panamanian National Migration Service (SNM), from 2010 to 2020 some 120,000 people crossed through this area. In 2021 and 2022, Panama faced an unprecedented mixed movement crisis, with nearly 400,000 people making this perilous journey through the jungle. In 2022, a total of 248,284 people entered the country irregularly through Darien.
Before they arrived at the Darien jungle, many of these refugees and migrants had previously crossed multiple countries often through unofficial border crossings, resulting in increased protection risks. These vulnerabilities were further exacerbated, during their journey through the jungle, by many risks and incidents which include, but are not limited to, thefts, physical and sexual attacks, murder, and extortion. Many of these refugees and migrants were also undocumented, limiting their access to basic services.
Due to protection concerns, in July 2022, UNHCR started collecting monthly information on the characteristics, vulnerabilities, and protection needs of refugees and migrants entering Panama through the Darien jungle.

Kind of Data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Unit of Analysis

Individual

Version

Version Description

v2.1: Edited, cleaned and anonymised data.

Scope

Notes

The scope includes:
- individual demographics
- movement details
- protection
- basic needs

Topics

Topic
Protection
Food security
Basic Needs

Coverage

Geographic Coverage

Data collection happened in key transit points in Darien and Chiriqui provinces such as: reception points San Vicente, Lajas Blancas, and Los Planes de Gualaca, in addition to the city of David and the town of Paso Canoas.

Producers and sponsors

Primary investigators

Name
UNHCR

Sampling

Sampling Procedure

Given the dynamic and challenging context for data collection in these locations, the surveys were collected using non-probability quota sampling. A stratified quota was drawn using proportions from the Panamanian National Migration Service’s official statistics, based on the top ten nationalities in transit. A minimum of 100 surveys were collected during each monthly data collection cycle.

Data Collection

Dates of Data Collection

Start	End
2022-06-28	2023-06-08

Data Collection Mode

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Data Collection Notes

Data collection was conducted by UNHCR Multi-Functional team with staff based in Panama, Darien and Chiriquí offices, through a structured tool deployed from UNHCR’s secure server on KOBO Toolbox platform.

Data Collectors

Name
UNHCR

Questionnaires

The questionnaire contained the following sections: introduction, personal information, reasons for leaving the country of origin, reasons for leaving the country of establishment, destination country, arrival and access to territory, protection incidents, specific condition, access to food and basic services.

Access policy

Contacts

Name	Affiliation	Email
Curation team	UNHCR	microdata@unhcr.org

Citation requirements

UNHCR (2023). Panama: Border Protection Monitoring, 2022 - 2023. Accessed from: https://microdata.unhcr.org

Metadata production

DDI Document ID

UNHCR_PAN_2023_BPM_v2.1

Producers

Name
UNHCR

Date of Metadata Production

2023-08-15

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