In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.
We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.
Based in Paris, CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions. They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field.
Based in Geneva, UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action.
Based in Brussels, MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration, refugees, aid access, health policy and the environment in which aid operates.
This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.
SAMU provides strategic, clinical and implementation support to various MSF projects with medical activities related to HIV and TB. This medical unit is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, and other infectious diseases. This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences, the World Health Organization (WHO), other renowned international medical institutions, and medical and scientific journals.
Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations, conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or excluded from health care.
Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris, assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work.
The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.
The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff, policy makers and academia to exchange ideas, align efforts, inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field.
The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole.
A collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases, founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world.
Years of bloody but largely neglected conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) have resulted in thousands being killed or wounded and millions being displaced.
Millions of people are dependent on humanitarian assistance. Our teams see the direct consequences of violence on the health of individuals and entire communities: wounded people needing care, children not able to reach medical facilities during malaria season, vaccination coverage and HIV and tuberculosis (TB) treatment interrupted, and pregnant women left without assistance before, during or after giving birth.
After the deadly civil war that took place in 2013-2014, CAR enjoyed a period of relative calm. However, tensions between numerous armed groups exploded again at the end of 2016, throwing the country into a renewed spiral of violence. The conflict raged on throughout 2017 and into 2018. Violent attacks in several locations aggravated the already dire health needs of the population, 15 per cent of whom - or close to 700,000 people - are displaced.
02Lack of healthcare
The health system is barely functioning, due to a severe shortage of skilled health workers and medical supplies. Limited access to vaccination means that easily preventable diseases continue to take a toll. Malaria is the leading cause of death among children under five years of age. This basic lack of access to healthcare has serious repercussions, for example for people living with HIV; CAR has one of the lowest antiretroviral coverage rates in the world.
03Access to healthcare
Armed groups control 70 per cent of the country, and large numbers of wounded have few options for treatment. Some are referred to the capital, Bangui, for want of specialist facilities elsewhere in the country. Many cannot access the care they need. Even those not injured in the conflict are restricted in their access to medical care, food, water, shelter and education. It is not possible to reach many areas caught in the conflict, leaving people cut off from even basic services.
04What we do
In many regions, MSF health structures are the only place for people to seek treatment free of charge. Our teams provide consultations and hospital care in 10 provinces, including maternity care, paediatric services and medical assistance for victims of sexual violence, basic emergency care, vaccinations and malaria treatment. Special emphasis has been put on ensuring continuity of care for HIV/AIDS patients in Carnot and Paoua.
1997
1997
Year MSF first worked in the country
About MSF
In the bush in Central African Republic
msf.org6 Oct 2020
Central African Republic
In times of COVID-19, malaria remains the number one killer of children in CAR
Project Update15 Sep 2020
Measles
Measles is a steady, silent killer among COVID-19
Project Update5 May 2020
HIV/AIDS
AIDS death toll stagnating due to lack of testing at community level
Press Release1 Dec 2019
HIV/AIDS
MSF report "No time to lose" examines the fight against AIDS in 15 countries
Report27 Nov 2019
Central African Republic
Silence aggravates the wounds of sexual violence
Project Update23 Jul 2019
Central African Republic
“It felt like it was raining bullets” in attacks on villages that kill over 50
Voices from the Field24 May 2019
Central African Republic
"We have not seen any doctors in Mingala for more than two years"
Project Update7 May 2019
Central African Republic
Unprotected: Report on violence and lack of protection for civilians in CAR
Report19 Feb 2019
Related topics
Crisis Settings
War and conflict
Around one-quarter of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for populations caught in armed conflict.
In Focus
Attacks on medical care
Attacks against medical facilities and health workers, whether deliberate or indiscriminate, are part of generalised violence and atrocities committed against civilians in armed conflict. They deprive populations of health services, often when they need them the most.
Medical Activities
Child health
Around the world, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams are working to protect the health of children.
Medical Activities
Malaria
Each year, malaria kills nearly half a million people. 70 per cent of all deaths are children under five years of age.
Medical Activities
HIV/AIDS
Nearly 700,000 people died from AIDS, while 1.7 million people became newly infected with the HIV virus in 2019.
Medical Activities
Sexual violence
Sexual violence affects millions of people, brutally shattering the lives of women, men and children. It is a medical emergency, but there is often a dire lack of healthcare services for victims.
Medical Activities
Mental health
Where we work, we may see people with a mental illness or confronting distressing situations, such as violence, loss or displacement. Mental health support can be crucial to help people cope.
