While the number of deaths and injuries rises in Ukraine and hundreds of thousands of people seek refuge in neighbouring countries, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working to get staff and equipment into areas most affected by the Russian military offensive. Bérengère Guais, deputy head of emergency programmes in Paris, explains the challenges and … Read more
In recent years, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been able to improve patients’ experiences of care for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), but the changing political situation threatens to derail this progress, writes Anita Mesic, MSF tuberculosis (TB), HIV, and hepatitis adviser. This article was originally published in The BMJ. On my last visit to MSF’s TB hospital in … Read more
More than 11 years after environmental contamination began causing the death of hundreds of children in Zamfara, northern Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has handed over its lead poisoning project to state authorities, as children are no longer dying of lead poisoning in the area. In March 2010, our teams received an alert about a … Read more
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has ended one of its largest interventions responding to the health and humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan. Our response to the Syrian refugee crises in Jordan started in 2013, through an emergency surgical hospital in Ramtha to treat war-wounded patients crossing the borders from southern Syria. In 2014, a 40-bed post-operative care … Read more
“We don’t have blankets to cover ourselves,” says Aafia, one of the thousands of internally displaced people sheltering in Marib governorate, Yemen. “My children have no warm clothes and I don’t have enough food to feed them.” The scene in Marib is a gloomy snapshot of how millions of Yemenis are suffering as a result of the … Read more
There is always a reason to find hope. For a second uncertain year in a row, many countries have faced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while, at the same time, conflict, disaster and obstacles to accessing care have hit people hard around the world. But, in the middle of countless humanitarian crises, hopeful mothers … Read more
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency teams will start providing medical and humanitarian assistance to communities on the remote islands of Dinagat, Siargao and other outlying areas, some of the worst affected by Typhoon Rai (local name: Odette), which struck the Philippines in December 2021 causing hundreds of casualties. Following assessments carried out between … Read more
Babies continue to be born in Afghanistan, against the backdrop of political upheaval and its consequences on healthcare and the economy. In MSF’s Khost maternity hospital, women remain at the fore, providing much-needed care to new mothers and their babies. We first opened this specialised maternity hospital in 2012, to provide safe and free maternal … Read more
A year of responding to crises in images In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued unabated around the world, as did the work our teams undertook to respond to it. But the pandemic took a backseat in many countries, as other crises and needs overtook the concerns of the people we assist. Our teams responded to crises of conflict and displacement. We … Read more
Thirteenth Ebola outbreak declared in DRC Following a series of community deaths in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the DRC Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Ebola on 8 October. The outbreak is concentrated in Beni health zone. This is the thirteenth epidemic in DRC, the third in North Kivu province and the second in … Read more