More than two decades since the 1994 genocide, Rwandan fieldworkers tell us about the experiences that motivated them to join MSF. Project Update - 6 Apr 2018

Yemen

Yemen: A timeline of more than three years of war

A timeline of more than three years of war Project Update - 4 Apr 2018

Humaid, 45 years old, is from Dhiban, in Deir ez-Zor. Five of his daughters (Sedar (4 years old), Dumua (5), Butul (6), Arimas (9) and Lamis (13)) were on the rooftop of the house when they were severely injured by a booby-trap. Sedar, the youngest, has been partially amputated of both legs, and Lamis, the eldest, of one leg.

“We fled Dhiban because of the clashes. Once the situation calmed down I went back by myself to check the house and did not see any suspicious device, so I brought my family as well.” The accident that almost killed the girls happened two month later. “The girls had never seen a mine before, how could a child know about a mine? They put the mines in the fridge, in the door handle, under the carpet, inside the Quran. The hospital is full of people who have amputated legs. What was the fault of the children? They are not part of the conflict. This is not a war, it’s a war against human.”

Syria

Patient numbers double in northeast as more people return home to landmines

“These explosive devices do not choose their targets. They do not respect peace treaties or ceasefires and can stay concealed for months or years after a conflict ends.” Project Update - 3 Apr 2018

Mace-Grace (11) recovers in a hospital room on 2 March 2018 in Bunia. She lost her mother, three siblings and her left hand after an attack on her village. Fighting in Ituri province has left thousands of Congolese displaced and some 100 have lost their lives. PHOTO/JOHN WESSELS

Democratic Republic of Congo

Stories of flight across Lake Albert

“It’s different this time. In the 2000s our homes were torched too, but we were able to go back to our villages. Now people are being hunted down and killed." Project Update - 23 Mar 2018

Marutatu settlement (part of Kyangwali) currently cannot cope with the influx of refugees. New arrivals already made vulnerable by their flight and the violence experienced back in Ituri end up sleeping in the open air, exposed to the rains that have started, with inadequate access to water and food, in appalling hygiene and sanitation conditions. Health authorities recently confirmed a cholera outbreak in the region, with over 1000 severe cases, including 30 fatalities since mid-February. MSF runs 2 Cholera treatment centers, supports health centers and implement water and sanitation activities to help control the outbreak, waiting from the national authorities to get a greenlight to perform cholera vaccination.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Violence in Ituri province forces tens of thousands from their homes

“New arrivals tell us of attacks at night, and a small number have deep cuts and wounds. Many arrive traumatized and exhausted, with sick children” Project Update - 28 Feb 2018

Dans le patiot de la clinique MSF de Gaza City, les femmes attendent leur tour.

Palestine

Gazans’ wounds bear witness to their living conditions

“Everything you earn here, you end up losing.” Project Update - 26 Feb 2018

Those that arrive have a multitude of different problems, from broken fingers, to strokes, to diabetes. What is clear is that for most of them their conditions are somewhat neglected. For most the arrival of MSF is a lifeline. Despite the long wait everybody gets to see the a doctor or nurse

South Sudan

The stark choices facing displaced people in Aburoc

"This constant fleeing from one town to another has taken its toll on the community. While some are planning ahead, others are still mentally and physically exhausted by the ordeal of last year." Project Update - 13 Feb 2018

Bria hospital, Doctor Victor Fayette (MSF) tends to Mahamat Sale's wound. He is the leader of the UPC rebel group (Union for Freedom in Central African Republic) and was shot during skirmishes in Batangafo, a district close to Bria.

Central African Republic

Renewed violence threatens people and healthcare in Bria

The cycle of attacks and violence in 2017 has left neighbourhoods in Bria, in eastern Central African Republic (CAR), entrenched or emptied by their inhabitants. Project Update - 31 Jan 2018

Christelle is 24 years old. On September 8, she was getting water at the fountain next to the hospital when armed men arrived and started shooting at her and at another 13 years-old girl who was there. She fell down on the ground and they continued shooting. After they left, the girl told her that they should run to the hospital but she realized she couldn’t as she had been shot in the ankle. The bone has been hit and she needed surgery.

Central African Republic

Attacks on medical facilities leave people without options

We have treated patients who have been shot, stabbed, beaten, burned in their homes and raped. Project Update - 30 Jan 2018

Syria

Tens of thousands struggle for survival in the winter cold

Tens of thousands of families have fled north towards the Turkish border, where they are living in overcrowded tents or makeshift shelters. Project Update - 24 Jan 2018

Four mothers posing in a corridor of the Hospital in Bili. All four of them are staying in the hospital with their child, that's suffering from a severe case of malaria. Since the beginning of the project in 2016, the pediatric ward already treated more than 4.000 cases of complicated/severe form of malaria.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

We provide medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff - most of them hired locally. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence and impartiality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation.

Learn more

About Us

What we do

Where we work

MSF Websites

Remembering the genocide more than 20 years on