By Chris Lockyear, operations manager for MSF in Pakistan On the afternoon of 24 September, I watched the news unfolding. Houses flattened, hundreds dead and many more injured following a major earthquake in the Awaran district of Balochistan province. It was clear to me that we, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), needed to be there. Alleviating … Read more
As the humanitarian situation inside Syria continues to worsen, mental health needs among refugees who have fled the country are steadily increasing. Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) wants to highlight the plight of Syrians in northern Iraq’s Domeez refugee camp, where MSF’s counsellors and psychologists … Read more
While Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is responding to an acute malaria peak in Chad, the first results from a prevention campaign carried out in the south of the country are spectacular. Seventy per cent less cases have been reported after the distribution of a preventive treatment. This brings real hope for the … Read more
About nine thousand children from seriously afflicted Central African Republic are now protected against measles and polio, following the emergency intervention in Gadzi, north-eastern Central African Republic, which started in August after Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams detected people were lacking access to health facilities in this area. In addition to preventing … Read more
It has been 11 days since the first of two severe earthquakes hit the Awaran area of Balochistan province, Pakistan. Despite daily discussions with the Government of Pakistan, Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has not yet been granted permission to work in the affected area. “Since the first earthquake struck on 24th … Read more
October 3, 2013 – The international medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is today launching an educational website, speakingout.msf.org, that provides unprecedented insight into its decisions during key humanitarian crises of the past 40 years. The first case study published on the website analyses MSF’s experience in Somalia during the early 1990s. The … Read more
Every day, thousands of people continue to flee the violence in Syria. Since the conflict began, over two million Syrians have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in northern Iraq to respond to this situation since May 2012. “We came from Tel Brak in north-eastern Syria. … Read more
Margie is a midwife who recently spent seven weeks working in a Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in northern Syria. The hospital includes an operating theater where staff members treat war wounds and large burn injuries, an emergency department, and the maternity unit where Margie was working. Why did MSF establish a … Read more
When Zahari Nur’s grandmother brought her to the outpatient post where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams were conducting outreach activities in Digdiga—one of the 12 Kebeles (provincial administrative units) that MSF is covering in its nutritional intervention in Afar—everybody thought she had just a few days to live. “I had given up hope … Read more
Source: This article originally appeared in Le Monde. Most diplomatic discussion on Syria has focused on the recent chemical weapons attack in al Ghouta, eastern Damascus. Meanwhile, the residents of this area continue to face daily bombings and a blockade that deprives them of the food and medicines that they need to survive. And humanitarian assistance … Read more