MSF is ramping up its efforts to control the epidemic of dengue fever in northern Honduras’ Cortes department. Project Update - 29 May 2019

Amara is the youngest in a family of 10 children. Since her birth, she has suffered from chest and breathing problems, so she was admitted to the paediatric ward that MSF runs in Elias Haraoui Governmental Hospital in Zahle, where she stayed for 10 days.
Amara’s mother, Rakad, is very grateful for the free services that her daughter received from MSF in the hospital. Since she was born, Amara’s health situation was putting burdens on her parents who can’t afford the cost of her treatment.
Rakad lives with her husband and 10 children in a refugee settlement. In addition to Amara’s health problems, two of Rakad’s children suffer from a physical disability and require treatment. All that Rakad wishes for is that her children get better, and the situation in Syria goes back to normal so the family can return.

International Financial Report 2018

Annual Report - 28 May 2019

75-year-old Hassan is one of the community leaders in the village Ton-Habalan. He has 21 children with three wives: “Now that I am old, my grown up children work for me. Before, my work was to take care of my livestock. I do not have any education. But me and my family had many camels and goats. The big draught in 2017 killed almost all my livestock, and now we only have a very small number of livestock left. The biggest problem is water, most of the berkits (rainwater ponds) are now empty, and there is no water here. It is good that we have access to healthcare but we do not have water. It is now the driest season here. And also food is a problem, we don’t have enough and we did not get food and water distribution.”

Ethiopia

Bringing healthcare to places where no health posts exist

MSF runs 17 mobile clinics in Doolo zone, a vast, arid area in Ethiopia’s Somali region, where patient numbers have consistently increased, indicating that we are reaching the right places. Project Update - 27 May 2019

A surgeon at MSF SICA Hospital in Bangui tries to extract a bullet deeply lodged in a patient's shoulder.

Un chirurgien de l'hôpital MSF SICA à Bangui tente d'extraire une balle profondément logée dans l'épaule d'un patient.

Central African Republic

“It felt like it was raining bullets” in attacks on villages that kill over 50

On Tuesday 21 May, dozens of civilians were killed when three villages in the Ouham-Pendé region were attacked by gunmen. One of the survivors, who was transferred to Bangui and treated by MSF, recalls the events. Voices from the Field - 24 May 2019

MSF teams have seen a general increase in the number of women, children and whole families traveling North.

Central American migration

“Mexico is not an option for my family to stay”

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers from across Central America, trying to cross to the United States, are stuck in Mexico and currently living in shelters and on the streets of violent border cities, such as Reynosa, Mexicali and Nuevo Laredo. Project Update - 24 May 2019

Cameroon

Five things to know about the violence in North-West and South-West Cameroon

Since 2016, conflict has been steadily growing in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon. The violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, creating a little-known humanitarian crisis. Read the five things to know more about this emergency. Project Update - 23 May 2019

Arnal Lual, 13, and her brother-in- law, Paulino Deng, are from Majbong. Arnal was bitten on the leg when she stepped on a Puﬀ Adder while playing outside her neighbour’s house in the evening. They came to the hospital in a vehicle , but it got stuck in the mud on the road for an hour and a half. Arnal was in pain and her leg continued to swell. They ended up walking for two hours to reach the Agok hospital. There, she received antivenom and had several operations.

Snakebite

WHO launches strategy to cut snakebite deaths and disabilities in half

Médecins Sans Frontières welcomes the release of the long-anticipated World Health Organization (WHO) strategy on the prevention and control of snakebite envenoming, aiming to cut in half the number of snakebite deaths and cases of disability by 2030. Press Release - 23 May 2019

Aguek Deng, 14, and her mother Achol Ngor are from Mabunny, near Agok market. Aguek was bitten on the arm by a snake while she was sleeping on the floor under a mosquito net. She cried out, but her mother didn’t know why. She is mentally disabled and hasn’t spoken since she was little. When they came to the Agok hospital the swelling had spread to her shoulder. She was given antivenom and then operated on.

Snakebite

Antivenom, not frogs, needed to cure snakebite

MSF teams in Agok, South Sudan, are having to find new ways to treat people bitten by snakes, after a key antivenom stopped production. For the victims of snakebite, it is a race against time, distance and overcoming traditional methods to cure snake envenoming. Project Update - 21 May 2019

For patients on the standard regimens of care TB treatment can last between 20 and 24 months, or longer. Mahina completed 22 months of treatment, which included 10 months of injections. Now that she is cured she enjoys spending time with her family, pictured here with her grandmother.

Tuberculosis

Breaking the cycle: Paediatric DR-TB detection, care and treatment in Tajikistan

Tajikistan has one of the highest burdens of multidrug-resistant tuberculosisin the world. Children aged under 15 years are particularly vulnerable to TB. Paediatric TB is not ignored in Tajikistan. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoH) and partners have been developing strategies to advance detection and treatment for this high-risk but neglected group. Report - 17 May 2019

Hajara Adamu fled Damasak, about 150 kilometers to Maiduguri back in 2011. She started a new life. Seven years later, she holds her 5months son Abubakar Abdullahi at the State Specialist Hospital. Abubakar was brought in when he showed measles-like symptoms. Since November 2018, (MSF) has treated over 2922 children for the potentially life-threatening disease.

Nigeria

“I have not seen such high numbers of measles cases”

Maiduguri, in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, is experiencing a severe measles outbreak, with thousands of children admitted to MSF treatment units in hospitals. The outbreak of the highly infectious disease has spread because of low vaccination coverage rates. Project Update - 17 May 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 expands efforts to control dengue epidemic in northern Honduras