Almost ten days after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, aid is reaching airports, ports and cities but people in many rural areas are still struggling without assistance, says MSF emergency coordinator Caroline Seguin. Here, she describes the huge logistical challenges of getting emergency aid to where it’s needed most. “In the days since the typhoon … Read more
November 16, 2013: While serious logistical difficulties remain, the activities of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams on the islands most affected by Typhoon Haiyan are taking shape. With 137 international staff in the Philippines today, and the arrival of 232 tons of supplies, MSF teams continue to assess areas outside the main cities … Read more
Arriving in Tacloban City, the Philippines, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staffer Yann Libessart encountered devastation and chaos, yet he was stunned at the peacefullness of those whose lives have been completely uprooted. Tacloban, November 15, 2013 At last, commercial flights have resumed regular movements between Cebu and Tacloban. Even before landing, the vision … Read more
November 15, 2013: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have begun treating patients on the ground in some locations in the central Philippines that were battered by Typhoon Haiyan and are continuing to work elsewhere to overcome the huge logistical impediments that the disaster left in its wake. The areas affected by the storm … Read more
November 15, 2013: Dr Johan von Schreeb arrived in the town of Guiuan in eastern Samar Island on November 14 as part of a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency team that is setting up medical services and treating patients in an area nearly totally levelled by Typhoon Haiyan. The team is creating a system … Read more
Esther Sterk is a medical doctor who arrived in the Philippines earlier this week to assist in the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) response to Typhoon Haiyan. She is working with a team assessing the immediate needs in some of the islands west of Cebu, remote areas that have been massively affected by the … Read more
November 13, 2013—In the ongoing effort to assist people in the central Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have traveled by car, boat, plane, and helicopter to reach some of the areas that were in the centre of the storm’s path—northern Cebu island, eastern Samar island, Panay Island, and … Read more
November 12, 2013: In the wake of the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines on November 8, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency teams are trying to reach the worst-affected parts of the country. Efforts to reach the city of Tacloban in Leyte Province are being complicated by roads that are blocked with debris, … Read more
“This sort of disaster is unprecedented in the Philippines” November 11, 2013 – Read the following interview with Dr Natasha Reyes, MSF’s emergency coordinator in the Philippines, about the devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan and the medical needs it has left in its wake. “Right now we’re operating in a relative black hole of information. … Read more
November 10, 2013—Emergency teams from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) arrived in Cebu, the Philippines, on Nov. 9. They have not yet been able to assess the full extent of the needs as access to the areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan is extremely difficult. Tacloban airport has been destroyed, many of the roads are … Read more