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.
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.
Read through case studies where we openly examine and analyse all our actions and decision-making processes during humanitarian emergencies that have led us to speak out.
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.
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.
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.
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. People seek help for many reasons - the agonising loss of a child in an earthquake, the trauma of violence, or surviving a dangerous journey. Our teams can provide mental health and psychosocial support through group sessions or individual consultations. MSF’s mental health care aims primarily to reduce people’s symptoms and improve their ability to manage a difficult time so they can get on with their lives.
A natural disaster such as an earthquake or man-made disasters related to conflict and displacement, are all traumatic events. Providing psychological aid can help by recognising those in distress, by listening to them, comforting them, linking them to needed services, and encouraging them to connect with their families and communities. Educating people about psychological reactions to a traumatic event and teaching self-help techniques such as deep breathing are helpful interventions immediately post-emergency.
02Psychological support
When people develop mental health disorders - anxiety, depression, post-traumatic reactions - that go beyond their coping skills, specialised care is needed, through group or individual consultations. Our teams work in countries where the health system is often failing, particularly in the area of mental health. Support can be done by people trained in counselling techniques, or when available by psychologists and even psychiatrists.
03Living with a disease
People with life threatening diseases, such as HIV or tuberculosis, are shocked and upset by the discovery of their disease and by the physical and psychological upheavals they face. Other chronic conditions can present symptoms related to depression or other psychological distress. Some specific treatments, such as for TB, can have side effects that include depression and psychosis. Our teams provide counselling to people on diagnosis of a serious disease, and monitor patients' mental health while on treatment, especially those taking medicines with potential psychological side effects.
04Mental illness
People with severe mental illnesses require special attention and treatment. In contexts where health services are failing, they are neglected and often stigmatised. Psychiatric treatment in MSF is usually integrated into general medical care. In some projects specialised clinicians treat patients with severe mental illness; in others where there is a lack of specialised professionals, general practitioners are trained to diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders. Supporting and expanding the capacity of our teams to care for patients with severe mental illness is a priority.
Nauru
MSF launches remote mental health service for former patients in distress
Press Release7 Feb 2019
Mental health
Displaced and distressed: people’s mental health in East Africa
Project Update22 Jan 2019
Lebanon
“To see one smile on a broken face is enough to know that this work is worthwhile”
Project Update15 Jan 2019
Armenia
Children in difficult situations: 30 years of MSF in Armenia
Project Update20 Dec 2018
South Africa
Critical gaps in mental healthcare for survivors of sexual violence
Report17 Dec 2018
South Africa
The mental healthcare lottery faced by victims of sexual violence
Voices from the Field17 Dec 2018
Niger
Diffa’s young minds damaged by the conflict
Project Update14 Dec 2018
Niger
Lives haunted by violence
Voices from the Field14 Dec 2018
Mental health
“It takes a lot to bring these children back to something approaching a normal life”
We produce important research based on our field experience. So far, we have published articles in over 100 peer-reviewed journals. These articles have often changed clinical practice and have been used for humanitarian advocacy. Read all our Mental Health-related articles on our dedicated Field Research website.
Around one-third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for populations caught in armed conflict.
Crisis Settings
Refugees, IDPs and people on the move
There are many reasons for flight, including war, persecution, conflict, natural disaster, destitution and repression. With health and well-being jeopardised, the lives of the most vulnerable can be at risk.
Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo
In DRC, MSF runs some of its largest medical relief operations, working in 20 of 26 provinces, responding to diseases outbreaks, conflict and displacement, and tackling health problems such as HIV/AIDs.
1,772,000
outpatient consultations
856,500
patients treated for malaria
122,800
patients admitted to hospital
Middle East & North Africa
Syria
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in this devastating war. Over 11 million people have been uprooted and humanitarian assistance has been consistently obstructed or denied.
647,600
outpatient consultations
30,100
patients admitted to hospital
10,000
major surgical interventions
Middle East & North Africa
Iraq
After years of armed conflict and instability, the health sector in Iraq is struggling to get back on its feet. Many health facilities are destroyed and those still operating lack medical supplies and qualified health workers.
