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Chad: MSF continues emergency medical aid amidst fresh fighting
© Jean Louis Mary/MSF
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In recent years, eastern Chad has been the scene of a broad humanitarian crisis which is affecting the entire population of the region: refugees from neighbouring Darfur as well as Chadian internally displaced persons (IDPs) and residents. This crisis is the result of home-grown tensions which, when sparked by cross-border raids by Sudanese militia, turned into widespread intercommunal violence and massive population displacement
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Southern Sudan: Giving birth is deadly
© Sven Torfinn
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In the region, tradition has it that women give birth to their offspring in their mother's home. They only seek help in the event of complications, first and foremost turning to a traditional healer or an untrained midwife in the village.
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Sudan: Dying in peace
Video: A ten minute video feature showing the scope of needs and MSF activities in southern Sudan.
MSF finds itself very much alone in most of the operational areas where we are present, and having to cope with much more needs than we would be comfortable with in other locations. We cannot be waiting for tomorrow.
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Unexploded ordnance in Darfur, Sudan
"As soon as we called the time of death, the family, the visitors, the staff - it almost felt like the news that the boy had died went through the air, outside of the clinic, outside of the hospital and into the town. You could feel a shroud of sadness." - Patrick Nagle, MSF Project Coordinator
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Peace shows a lack of aid in northern Bahr-el-Ghazal, southern Sudan
© Stefan Pleger, 2002
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"When I met these families a few days ago, I was struck by their despair, which borders on aggression. In the Mending Dot Akok site [approximately 10,000 IDPs], we were surrounded by men, women and children who were slapping their stomachs and holding their fingers up to their mouths to express their hunger in a universal language." - Gabriel Trujillo, MSF program manager in Sudan
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WOMEN ARE HEROES CAMPAIGN
“Women are Heroes!” in honour of the fate of women, both strong and vulnerable, who display extraordinary strength in all circumstances. Part of an MSF campaign in Belgium on women in humanitarian crises that was launched last June.
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Medical and psych care amidst the violence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
© MSF
The MSF clinic in the foreground of Complexo do Alemão, Brazil
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"We visited Complexo do Alemão and we found out that, due to the peculiar violent situation, there were difficulties of access to quality and timely medical and psychological care for the inhabitants, especially during fighting," said Alberto Cristina, Head of Mission for MSF in Brazil.
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Displaced by violence from Chad to Camerooon.
MSF has been trying to assist over 10,000 refugees from Chad, now settling in Camerooon. In this interview with Hugues Robert, Program Manager of the MSF (Swiss) Emergency Desk, MSF explains the range of work currently underway and the wider issue of people in need throughout the area.
Reports say that 30,000 people are still trapped in West Darfur, Sudan, facing aerial bombing and ground attacks and MSF is very worried about this civilan population.
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Gaza Strip blockade worsens an already grave medical situation
The current closure is worsening an already grave situation, particular in the health sector. MSF is particularly concerned about the impact of this blockade on hospitals. MSF clinics are prepared to deal with an influx of patients, although that number would represent only a small percentage of overall needs.
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The Central African Republic is a blind spot on the map of international interest
© Spencer Platt/Getty Images
People gather on the grounds of a hospital where relatives are being treated in Kabo in the northern Central African Republic.
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It is one of the poorest countries in the world with an average life expectancy of only 43 years. In addition to ongoing violence, since late 2006, between rebel groups and government troops that has forced thousands of people in Vakaga to flee their destroyed homes and villages, the population also suffers from a near-total lack of health care. link in 2007.
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Severe and indiscriminate violence sweeps across Nairobi slums
© Brendan Bannon
Click for large view
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People have been victims of armed civilians increasingly organised in groups that perpetrate indiscriminate violence - with knives, machetes and sometimes axes - against the population as a whole. Our teams have witnessed severely wounded people, with lacerated bodies and mutilated limbs or head.
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In North Kivu, DRC, MSF attempts to reach those trapped in the conflict
 MSF: click for video
MSF interview: 'Despite the glimmer of hope kindled by the Goma peace conference, I saw how desperate the population is':
Click here...
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"Just a few days ago, this health centre was pillaged by armed men; there was almost nobody left here," says MSF nurse Angelina Palmer.
"Thanks to the bravery of Congolese health staff who agreed to come back to work here, we have been able to treat a huge number of patients."
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MSF treats new wounded in Nairobi
© Brendan Bannon
View from the MSF clinic in Kibera, Kenya.
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Over the past two days, 34 wounded have been treated in MSF's medical health posts in Nairobi's Mathare and Kibera slums. Among these patients, eight suffered from bullet wounds. Several wounded have been referred to hospitals. The majority of patients have suffered injuries from knives or sticks, with some being seriously injured. Several patients needed to be transferred to a hospital.
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Kenya's post-election violence and the 'hapa-hapa' syndrome
© Susan Sanders/MSF
MSF Logistical Coordinator, Naoufel Dridi, provides people with tickets in Langas internally displaced camp so they can collect a non-food item kit.
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Some displaced people's camps that were packed with hundreds of families just a few days ago are now empty as many have decided to go home. Others remain crowded. Conditions in the camps vary greatly.
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MSF assists people displaced by violence in Kenya
Over the past few days, MSF teams have done assessments by helicopter in different areas in the west of Kenya where large numbers of displaced people are reported to have fled. Eight additional MSF international staff have arrived in Kenya to help assess and respond to the needs created by the violence and insecurity that has rocked the country since the disputed presidential elections on December 27.
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MSF video