The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately impacting the world’s most vulnerable. Among them are more than 70 million forcibly displaced people worldwide – refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people (IDPs) – as well as migrant workers, including undocumented migrants. Many of these men, women and children live in formal and informal camps, reception centres, or in detention centres. … Read more
Ajaz Ahmad Sofi, Clinical Psychologist at MSF mental health care project in Jammu and Kashmir writes how our teams are working to meet a huge need for psychological support in the valley. “Complaints related to mental health are not new to the people in Kashmir. Decades of difficult times have led to a huge need … Read more
Are you in self-isolation? Is your mind surrounded by information related to the epidemic/pandemic? In difficult times, like during a pandemic, many people start feeling stressed, anxious and have other overwhelming emotions. MSF Psychologist Sharika Amin offers three ways to help us cope with stress during these times.
One of the most densely populated countries in the world, Bangladesh also houses the world’s largest refugee camp. Across Cox’s Bazar, nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. As COVID-19 spreads through Bangladesh, these are the five key challenges to overcome. 1. Highly vulnerable populations Across Bangladesh, many impoverished communities face a precarious existence in crowded environments, making … Read more
While much of the world’s attention is on battling the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now reached many countries in Africa, measles continues to silently kill large numbers of mostly children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad. DRC – which has also been fighting an Ebola epidemic – declared a measles outbreak in June 2019. Chad’s measles outbreak … Read more
On 10 April 2020, a new case of Ebola was confirmed in the city of Beni, North-Kivu, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The news came after a long interval without new confirmed cases: 52 days had passed since the notification of the previous confirmed case and 40 days had elapsed since the last patient was declared free of Ebola. … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic cannot be said to have gone unnoticed as it crashes around the globe. But in the places it has hit hardest, the virus has made its way silently into all corners of society’s fabric. And it has taken one of the heaviest tolls in residential homes for elderly people, who need a very special … Read more
A full lockdown has been in place in the West Bank for more than three weeks, with over 300 people confirmed to have COVID-19 in Palestine. The harshness of these security measures, intended to prevent the virus from spreading further, is impacting the lives of more than 3.2 million people living in the West Bank. But while millions … Read more
MSF teams are racing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the more than 70 countries in which we run programmes, while opening projects in new countries as they become pandemic hotspots. Our COVID-19 response focuses on three main priorities: supporting health authorities to provide care for patients with COVID-19; protecting people who are vulnerable and at risk; … Read more
Our expert teams are aiding the fight against the new coronavirus on four continents. This is MSF’s response in pictures. As an emergency medical organisation, we’ve been fighting disease outbreaks for nearly 50 years. Our battle against COVID-19 began like many of our epidemic responses: by sending medical supplies to the epicentre of the outbreak. More than three tonnes … Read more