In Türkiye the consequences of this February’s devastating earthquakes are all too visible in destroyed buildings, makeshift camps and rebuilding efforts widespread in affected areas. With the coming of spring, heavy rain has caused flooding, creating further issues. For the survivors, the earthquakes have also led to less visible, but still significant, consequences. MSF is … Read more
Trying to see a doctor; getting hold of insulin treatment for diabetes; seeking legal advice prior to an asylum interview. All of these are a challenge for the refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers stuck in the isolated and highly securitised Zervou centre on the Greek island of Samos. Zervou centre is the result of an aggressive … Read more
We realise that survival goes beyond treating visible injuries. For people who have lived through humanitarian crises, psychological wounds often remain hidden even after proper treatment. For more than two decades, MSF professionals have been there to listen and provide support, with our staff providing over 380,000 individual mental health consultations in 2021. But MSF’s … Read more
In Kashmir valley, better mental health is sought. Community outreach is reducing stigma and increasing care seeking behaviour. Every week from Monday to Friday, 30 year-old Mudasir Lone in Sopore, Kashmir, spends eight hours daily interacting with locals and talking to them about mental health. He is part of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / … Read more
MSF has been working in Bihar since 2007. Our activities have seen a gradual transition to focus on people living with advanced HIV and life-threatening opportunistic infections at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital in Patna, Bihar. For the unversed, patients with advanced HIV have an extremely high mortality rate, with complex treatment needs covering nutrition, infection, … Read more
“I feel fear in my soul. My fingers and hands begin to get cold,” says Vira, an elderly woman who fled the Donetsk region and is now seeking shelter in Ivano-Frankivsk, in the southwest of the country. “I’m worried about my relatives, who are still at home – my son who is still living where … Read more
Now in its seventh year, the crisis in Yemen is no longer headline news. But the conflict continues to have a devastating impact on people’s wellbeing, and on their mental health in particular. In Hajjah, where our teams have found a high need for mental health services, we hear from our mental health manager, Antonella Pozzi, about the complex … Read more
MSF doctors and nurses are often seen treating physical ailments. But for people who have lived through terrible events and difficult health conditions, the psychological consequences can be severe. Today, mental healthcare is considered as an integral part of most of our medical activities. For more than 20 years, we have been providing care for patients’ … Read more
Since late 2019, Lebanon has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades, social unrest and political turmoil. On top of that, and following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020, a major explosion tore through the capital, Beirut, in August. These overlapping crises have exacerbated people’s vulnerability and pushed thousands into poverty. All this … Read more
MSF psychologist Sara Tannouri looks back at the blast that devastated her home city of Beirut, Lebanon two months ago and its impact on people’s mental wellbeing, including her own. 4 August 2020 at 6.08 pm. I was just about to leave my house for the weekly session with my personal therapist. I was already late … Read more