Kenya: Raging floods raise the risk of cholera and malaria

Raging floods have hit Kenya, killing nearly 200 people and displacing tens of thousands in Nairobi and other parts of the country, as heavy rainfall continues to batter the country since March. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Kenya started supporting those affected by the floods. With ongoing heavy rainfall across Kenya and the region, … Read more

“We have lost everything, but I am very strong”: MSF works in shelter with vulnerable victims of disastrous floods in the south of Brazil

A boy named Joaquim runs restlessly among toys spread on the classroom’s floor. There are colorful posters displayed on the walls, but it’s not a class day, and Joaquim is not a student here, either. Desks in this classroom in the city of Canoas, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, are piled … Read more

South Sudan: Communities prepare for renewed flooding ahead of rainy season

In a parched landscape, an MSF tractor roars as it approaches a small village in Dentiuk, in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state. It is towing a trailer to which a creaking wooden canoe is strapped. “Are you sure we are in the right place?” asks the driver.  It might not look like it, but when … Read more

One year on: Soaring needs in Twic County, South Sudan

Under the shadow of a tree, a group is gathering, exchanging greetings. Peter, a mental health counsellor for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Margaret Abuk, MSF health promoter, are conducting an awareness and educational session for a group of overfifty people. A woman in the background is carrying a jerrycan of water on her head, … Read more

Pakistan: Flood emergency is far from over

Sindh, Pakistan: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is seeing alarmingly high numbers of patients with malaria and children with malnutrition among flood-affected communities it assists in Sindh and eastern Balochistan provinces, Pakistan. Catastrophic flooding began in June, and the situation remains an emergency, with critical humanitarian needs. The current response … Read more

Catastrophic floods cause mass displacement and an escalating humanitarian crisis in South Sudan

A small makeshift raft made from plastic sheeting and filled with dry grass is drifting along the Nile River’s current, on it sits an entire family of eight – the youngest just a baby. Where they will end up is hopefully not as bad as what they have left behind. On this small raft is … Read more

Pakistan: People are unable to return home and major health concerns remain months after the flooding

In has been more than three months since devastating floods caused vast damage across Pakistan and displaced millions, but only in recent weeks have waters started to recede and people been able to return home. Those returning to their villages are finding destroyed houses and land, still surrounded by stagnant water. Meanwhile, those remaining in … Read more

Bangladesh: Poor water and sanitation services expose Rohingya community to disease

A recent assessment by MSF in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, shows that five years since the acute emergency phase of the response to support Rohingya refugees in 2017, the water and sanitarian situation in the camps is concerning. The 2022 water and sanitation community feedback study, concluded in June, assessed water, sanitation … Read more

Pakistan: “These floods will likely affect the population for months”

Monsoon rains have plagued Pakistan for months and have become yet more intense in recent weeks, causing widespread damage in much of the country, increased by global warming and the melting of glaciers. Millions of people have lost their homes and are being forced to sleep in makeshift shelters, while many health structures are damaged … Read more

A first person account of devastating floods in Pakistan

Shahid Abdullah, MSF’s emergency field coordinator in Balochistan describes the situation on the ground in flood-affected areas. People are sitting alongside the main road, and you can see that many of them have already received help. They have, among other things, mosquito nets, hygiene packs and food. On the other hand, those who are away … Read more