Iraqis who fled the Islamic State group’s iron grip and the US-led coalition’s bombing campaigns have all but lost hope in the future. Their story is testament to the fact that, while the Islamic State group appears to have been defeated militarily, peace and prosperity remain a distant dream for many Iraqis. Voices from the Field - 12 Dec 2018

In October 2018, MSF teams in collaboration with MoH andHellenic Center for Disease Control & Prevention (KEELPNO) vaccinated 200 children living in VIAL camp on Chios island against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) as well as Polio for those who weren't already vaccinated.

In March 2018, MSF mobile units began holding daily visits to the VIAL camp offering primary health care, sexual and reproductive healthcare (ante-/postnatal care; gynecology; family planning), and mental healthcare (individual clinical psychological care sessions). In July 2018, MSF set up a permanent clinic outside VIAL Camp. A social worker complements the support offered to patients at both the local hospital and the camp, linking patients as well to legal aid actors locally and in Athens. Patients in need of psychiatric treatment are referred to a local NGO since the waiting time at the local hospital’s can be as long as three months. In addition, an outreach team is regularly deployed to the camp providing health advice, promoting MSF's activities, and referring patients to our clinic.

Refugees, IDPs and people on the move

"Migration is not a crime. Saving lives is not a crime"

Speech given by MSF International President Dr Joanne Liu at the Global Compact of Migration conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, on refugees and migration. Speech - 11 Dec 2018

A woman in detention centre.
Her testimony: “We were abandoned at sea. People lost hope. Why did we let people die at sea? They have all the means to rescue us. We are all humans. If we try to go to Europe, it’s to have a better life. People will keep continuing taking journey by sea. There are people who are escaping war, others are escaping poverty; people should be rescued and later on each individual case is looked at. We are not in Libya to stay here, we want to go to Europe. We are not criminals”.

Libya

Open letter to the UN on the fate of refugees trapped in dangerous Libya

Open letter from MSF to Ghassan Salamé, Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, on the situation of the refugees and migrants forcibly disembarked from the Nivin merchant ship and still at risk in Libya Open Letter - 10 Dec 2018

Lebanon

MSF in Lebanon: Then and Now

Then and Now is the unfolding story of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Lebanon, first presented as a multimedia exhibition in Beirut on 10-13 December 2018 to commemorate the 42-year relationship between MSF and Lebanon Photo Story - 7 Dec 2018

Central Mediterranean – 23 September, 2018 – Over the past 72 hours, Aquarius assisted two boats in distress and now has more than 60 survivors on board, several of whom are psychologically distressed and fatigued from their journeys at sea and experiences in Libya.
SOS Mediterrannee and MSF are reeling from the announcement by the Panama Maritime Authority it has been forced to revoke the registration of the Aquarius under blatant economic and political pressure from the Italian government.
“Five years after the Lampedusa tragedy, when European leaders said ‘never again’ and Italy launched its first large scale search and rescue operation, people are still risking their lives to escape from Libya . News from the Panama Maritime Authority arrived to the Aquarius while its teams were engaged in an active search and rescue operation in the Central Mediterranean.

Mediterranean migration

Aquarius forced to end operations as Europe condemns people to drown

As people continuing to flee by sea along the world’s deadliest migration route, not only has Europe failed to provide search and rescue capacity - it has actively sabotaged others’ attempts to save lives. Press Release - 6 Dec 2018

Yemen

Whether it be from the sky or on the ground, medical care is a target in Yemen

An article by Alex Dunne, MSF Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Yemen, first published on www.independent.ie on 23 November 2018. Op-Ed - 6 Dec 2018

85-year-old Qassim, from Radfan, is seen outside the Inpatient male Department (IPD) of the Al-Nasser Hospital, with one of his brother-in-law, 57- year-old Mohammed. Qassim suffers from diarrhea, dyspnea (difficulty in breathing) and anaemia. Ad Dhale, Yemen 2018.

Yemen

“When you add it all up, you’re looking at a devastating situation for the people of Yemen”

Four years into the recent conflict, Robert Onus, MSF’s former head of mission in Yemen, describes its impact on people across the country. Interview - 6 Dec 2018

Mrs Iqbal: ‘Household chores are the main responsibility of a woman, but I can’t do them’
“It is a big problem. I can’t cook food for my husband. It has been five months now and I am in great pain. For any woman, household chores are main responsibility of a woman, but I can’t do them.”
Mrs Iqbal is a housewife living in Peshawar. She was at a wedding in Bajaur Agency, a former district of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Areas) of Pakistan, when she contracted Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. With every passing day, the lesion continued to grow bigger and bigger. She met many doctors in her area, but there was only one who said it was Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and that she needed to get specialised treatment. Her husband is a rickshaw (tuk tuk) driver, who is going to drive her to the hospital each day.

Pakistan

Bringing hope to sufferers of a neglected disease

Stories from MSF’s treatment centre for cutaneous leishmaniais in Peshawar. Opened in May 2018, already the centre has admitted more than 800 patients and is operating at full capacity, as are MSF’s three other treatment centres: two in Quetta and one in Kuchlak. Project Update - 5 Dec 2018

Hepatitis C

Appeal lodged against decision to uphold Gilead’s patent on hepatitis C drug

MSF and others have filed an appeal against the European Patent Office’s decision to uphold US pharmaceutical corporation Gilead Science’s patent on the key hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir. Press Release - 5 Dec 2018

Website

Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities

Information and tools to promote and implement inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. disabilityinclusion.msf.org

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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Iraq’s displaced see no hope on the horizon