MSF International President Dr Joanne Liu's speech in Paris on 22 July on MSF's decision to rejoin partner SOS MEDITERANNEE in search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean sea with new boat, the Ocean Viking. Speech - 22 Jul 2019

About Ocean Viking:

The Ocean Viking is a Norwegian offshore supply ship with a Norwegian International flag.

It was originally conceived for rescues, as an Emergency Response and Rescue Vessel (ERRV) - a stand-by offshore vessel ready for rescuing a large number of passengers and taking care of a large number of people in case of mass casualties.

Built in 1986, it is 69 metres in length and 15.5 metres long. It is fully equipped to perform search and rescue with four high speed rescue boats, as well as a medical clinic with consultation, triage and recovery rooms. The ship can take up to 200 survivors on board.

The MSF team who are in charge of the medical and humanitarian needs of the rescued people on board consist of nine people: four medics (one doctor, two nurses, one midwife), a Logistician, one Cultural Mediator, a Humanitarian Affairs Officer, a Field Communications Manager and a Project Coordinator who leads the team.

The SOS MEDITERRANEE team, who are in charge of the search and rescue, consists of 12 people, and are led by the Search and Rescue Coordinator. Then there are a further 9 people who are part of the ship’s marine crew and are employed by the ship owner.

Mediterranean migration

MSF resumes search and rescue amid deteriorating conditions in Libya

We have announced that, in partnership with SOS MEDITERRANEE, we are returning to save lives in the Central Mediterranean Sea with a new ship, the Ocean Viking. Press Release - 21 Jul 2019

Natali and Katerine were sexually abused by their grandfatehr (their mothers father). He has since been incarcerated. Meanwhile the girls and their mother have all received psychiatric treatment for the trauma of these occurances and have found the treatment very beneficial. This is the last of their 8 sessions with MSF psychologist Gracia and they are very grateful for her help.

Honduras

Emergency contraceptive pill vital for sexual assault victims

The prohibition of ECP in Honduras urgently needs to be overturned so that a comprehensive health protocol for victims of sexual violence can be validated and put into practice. Project Update - 19 Jul 2019

MSF provides primary healthcare, sexual and reproductive healthcare and mental healthcare to migrants and asylum-seekers from Venezuela and to Colombians unable to access to the health system in the provinces of La Guajira, Norte de Santander and Arauca.

Colombia

The uncertain lives of Venezuelan migrants on the Colombian border

Venezuelans who have fled their country's severe economical and political crisis are struggling to have their healthcare needs met in Colombia. There, MSF teams are plugging the gaps in a system which is struggling to cope with the new arrivals. Project Update - 17 Jul 2019

Patient at the support group, Matsanjeni clinic (Shiselweni region). In Eswatini, MSF is working to fight the dual epidemic of HIV and TB.
The treatment for DR forms of TB is long, sometimes over two years, and often has very difficult side-effects. MSF organizes support groups and provides counseling to patients
to help them stick with their treatment.

HIV/AIDS

Fight is not over as AIDS deaths remain high

Deaths from HIV/AIDS have stagnated over the last three years, with nearly 770,000 people dying in 2018. A lack of funding from donors and a lack of access to diagnosis and treatment, particularly for opportunistic infections like TB, are hampering efforts to reduce mortality. Press Release - 16 Jul 2019

A child vaccinated against Measles gets marked in order to avoid confusion during a vaccination day in the island of Kassa, Guinea. Doctors without Borders (MSF) is launching a large scale measles vaccination campaign in Conakry, the capital of Guina. Since the beginning of the year there have been 3468 confirmed cases and 14 deaths dues to measles in Guinea.

Public health

Eight things we've learned from MSF operational research projects

In two video features, eight researchers explain how their work supports MSF projects in Greece, Guinea, Bangladesh, Iraq, South Africa, Zimbabwe and beyond. Interview - 16 Jul 2019

Refugees in Zintan DC at the gate of the main warehouse where 700 of them were detained.
A tuberculosis outbreak has likely been raging for several months in the detention centre and some wear masks for fear of contamination.
The main warehouse was emptied in June 2019, and the remaining people distributed among the other buildings within the detention centre compound.

Libya

Out of sight, out of mind: refugees in Libya's detention centres

Up to 6,000 refugees and migrants are being held in horrendous conditions in Libya’s detention centres, in an increasingly perilous situation as the country descends into conflict. Photo Story - 12 Jul 2019

Ethiopia

The constant cycle of displacement

Thousands of people have shuttled back and forth between the Gedeo and Guji areas of southern Ethiopia. Displacement camps have closed, but many are unable to return home, and are surviving in difficult conditions. MSF is providing assistance. Project Update - 12 Jul 2019

Bushra Mohammed, one year and 4 months old, was hospitalized in the burns unit at MSF Hospital in Qayyarah twenty days ago. 12% percent of her body had burn wounds. After two skin grafts (a surgical operation in which healthy skin is transplanted to the burn site), Bushra needs to stay in the hospital for several more days. Doctors prefer to monitor her recovery process due to her young age and the severity of her wounds.
“We are from Qayyarah, we came to this hospital because it is the nearest hospital and we knew MSF was working here. Before the last war with the Islamic State group (IS), there were other hospitals, the General and Jumhouri hospitals, but they were shelled and destroyed.”
“It was 8:00 pm and we were having dinner, all of us, the family. Bushra’s 5-year-old sister went into the bathroom to wash her hands after eating. She turned the faucet of the hot water, and extremely hot water came pouring out. She feared that she could not turn the faucet again to close it, and left it open.”
At this moment, Bushra came in; she follows her sister’s every move. She slipped onto the water and fell with her soft skin touching the very hot ceramic floor.
“We all jumped when she screamed. She was crying in pain, and my heart was pounding when I went in to look for her. Her father carried her straight to the hospital, but still, her arm suffered a bad burn despite our quick reaction. In the hospital, the staff attended to her burns and applied dressings to cover the wounds properly. Every two days they wash and clean her wounds, and then they informed us that she needs a skin graft. We have been here in this ward for 20 long days.
Bushra is playful and curious, being stuck in bed the whole day every day is hard for her. She is even tired of seeing the colour of the green sterile hospital scrubs.
As everyone who enters the room to see and visit wears a green sterile gown, she gets upset when she sees this green colour. She used to cry whenever she sees me wearing it, and would stop as soon as I took it off.
I am now more aware of what could happen if she is left alone even for a single moment. I will never let her out of my sight ever again.”

Iraq

Supporting people in Qayyarah

Project Update - 12 Jul 2019

Democratic Republic of Congo

Six years on, still no news of our colleagues held hostage by armed group ADF

On 11 July 2013, three of our MSF colleagues - Richard, Romy and Philippe - were abducted by armed group ADF from a field assessment in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Six years on, they remain missing - and we remain committed to the search for them. Statement - 11 Jul 2019

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.

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MSF resumes search and rescue operations with Ocean Viking