Skip to main content
Gaza protest

War and conflict

War in Gaza:: find out how we're responding
Learn more
More than one third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for people affected by armed conflict.

Armed conflict devastates lives. Targeted, harassed and trapped within hardship and poverty, people are often forced into flight. In other cases, people live under siege or in constant fear of  indiscriminate or even targeted attacks. In addition, people are often left impoverished without sufficient access to basic needs like food and medical care.
 
Comprehensive medical and humanitarian support is vital, but health services are often scarce. In conflict zones, we do not take sides.

We provide care based on needs alone, and work to reach those who require medical attention, regardless of which side of the frontline they happen to be.

Conflict and Health - ENG - 16:9
video

Conflict and Health

Conflict and health

How does conflict damage national health?

Armed conflict causes injury, displacement and death. Even after the guns have fallen silent, conflict continues to affect people’s health.

It devastates essential health services, disrupts medical supplies, forces medical staff to flee and leaves health systems broken, so when deadly diseases arrive they’re even harder to fight.

For people caught up in violence or its aftermath, it is more important than ever to have access to healthcare, shelter, sanitation and food.

Ibtisam Hashim, midwife, Nablus hospital, West Mosul
You can still see a lot of anger and pain in people’s eyes wherever you go. Abdulrahman Dhannoon Khaleel, MSF project coordinator support
Iraq

Mosul: A city recovering from war

 
From Misrata to Tripoli
Libya

From Misrata to Tripoli, a first-hand account from Dr Tankred Stoebe

Voices from the Field 24 Apr 2017
 
SMC and vaccination in the north of Mali
Mali

"There is a crisis overlap in northern Mali"

Voices from the Field 20 Apr 2017
 
Nigeria: Searching for aid after fleeing the fighting
Photo Story

Searching for aid after fleeing the fighting

19 Apr 2017
Photo Story
 
Nigeria, Banki, March 2017
Nigeria

Testimonies of forced return

Voices from the Field 19 Apr 2017
 
Nigeria-Rann_March-2017
Nigeria

“Falling sick in Rann is almost a death sentence”

Voices from the Field 19 Apr 2017
 
Bria Hospital
Central African Republic

“Our paediatric hospital had to suddenly function as an adult trauma centre”

Voices from the Field 13 Apr 2017
 
CAR - Mar 2017
Central African Republic

Civilians pay the price of renewed, brutal fighting

Press Release 13 Apr 2017
 
Outdoors support clinics, Thaker. Leer, South Sudan
Photo Story

Delivering healthcare to a population displaced and in danger in Leer county

12 Apr 2017
Photo Story
 
Providing care to displaced communities, Tikrit district, Iraq.
Iraq

“We walked all night, staying away from roads for fear of being caught”

Project Update 11 Apr 2017
Up Next
1 June 2018