Mediterranean migration: Stories of survival at sea

MSF rescued 60 people, including six minors and 24 women, during two operations on board the Geo Barents ship on Monday 20 September. Once safely on board, some of the survivors decided to share the stories of their horrific journeys across the desert, in transit countries, the challenges related to multiple border crossings and of the horrific abuses … Read more

Libya: Medical care resumes in Tripoli detention centres

Almost three months after suspending medical activities in two detention centres in Tripoli, Libya, following a series of concerning incidents, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has returned to work in these centres, to provide vital medical care for detained migrants and refugees. We have also resumed activities in a third detention centre, which we had … Read more

My abortion story

For International Safe Abortion Day, 15 women share their experiences Abortion is a common experience—people of all ages, ethnicities, nationalities, and religions decide to end their pregnancies for various reasons. Yet in many places across the globe, people who have abortions face harmful stereotypes, blame, and social stigma. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides safe … Read more

Palestine: Treating child injuries in blockaded Gaza

In the Al-Awda hospital paediatric unit in northern Gaza, Palestine, Mohammed Aboud, a father of five, comforts his four-year-old daughter Hala as she slowly wakes up after her surgery. The scene is all too familiar to Mohammed now. Over the past few weeks, Hala has already been operated on five times. On 14 July 2021, Mohammed … Read more

Ukraine: Fighting tuberculosis with medication, mental health and social support

In Zhytomyr, Ukraine, our teams works with the Regional TB Dispensary to treat patients who have drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (DR-TB). They are treated with a short course of DR-TB medication and the possibility of being treated at home most of the time; meaning patients can get back to their lives, families and careers sooner. Yet, completing … Read more

Overcoming obstacles: Treating trauma in Kunduz, Afghanistan

Fighting in the city of Kunduz in north-eastern Afghanistan ended on 8 August. During the clashes, we transformed our office space into a temporary trauma unit to treat the people wounded. That unit is now closed and on 16 August all patients were transferred to the nearly-finished Kunduz Trauma Centre that our teams have been building since … Read more

Countries must not let another opportunity slip by to advance the global waiver on overcoming COVID-19 medical-tool monopolies

Geneva – As countries reconvene tomorrow for another round of discussions on the “TRIPS Waiver” proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO), after a gap of over two months, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on the European Union (EU), strongly backed by Germany, and the UK, Norway, and Switzerland to stop blocking this initiative … Read more

Haiti: Complex needs of earthquake survivors require continued specialised care

The greatest number of deaths and injuries from Haiti’s 14 August earthquake occurred in the country’s southernmost region, the Sud department. Prior to this disaster, hospitals and clinics were already scarce in remote areas of Sud, and the earthquake damaged or destroyed many health facilities and roadways, making it difficult for survivors in rural areas to reach … Read more

Afghanistan: Medical needs grow as international organisations suspend activities

After months of fighting on the outskirts of Herat in Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also known as the Taliban, took control of the city on August 12. We are running an inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (IFTC), a clinic for displaced people, and a COVID-19 treatment centre in Herat. An Afghan MSF medic working in the city … Read more

Access to Medicines: Lifesaving TB medicines still out of reach for children in high-burden countries

Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released new rapid guidance recommending that children of all ages with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) have access to all-oral treatment using the drugs bedaquiline and/or delamanid. However, adopting these new recommendations in high TB burden countries requires access to the paediatric formulations of bedaquiline (produced by Johnson & Johnson) … Read more