"At this very moment, our ability to assist in providing healthcare in East Ghouta is almost non-existent." Voices from the Field - 28 Mar 2018

Syria

Two airstrikes cause a mass-casualty influx in a MSF supported hospital

"It is painful to live in days when children are killed and wounded by the bombing of a busy public market. Our only relief is to keep supporting the Syrian medics to save as many lives, limbs and futures as possible." Press Release - 23 Mar 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

Tuberculosis

Tackling mortality due to childhood tuberculosis

The Lancet - 23 Mar 2018

Giakila was diagnosed with drug-resistant TB at Gerehu Hospital, Port Moresby, where MSF supports TB treatment and diagnosis.

Giakila was five months’ pregnant when she became seriously ill, and ended up losing her baby.
She visited private hospitals where she was diagnosed with malaria and pneumonia, before coming to Gerehu Hospital, where MSF supports TB screening, treatment and diagnosis.
“Losing a child was very hard for me, and I really wanted to know what was going on with me. So we came to Gerehu clinic and they advised me that I had TB.”
Giakila was diagnosed with multidrug-resistant TB, which involves two years of treatment including daily injections in the early stages.
“I was scared at first, because there were too many medicines that I was taking. But then it started helping me to recover some of the loss that I encountered, so I was happy taking these medicines.”

Papua New Guinea

Bringing TB treatment closer to home

An estimated 30,000 new cases in 2016, expanding and improving TB care in PNG is an uphill battle. Project Update - 23 Mar 2018

Myanmar

Myanmar: treating HIV, TB, and hepatitis C in Insein clinic, Yangon

Photo Story - 23 Mar 2018

Tuberculosis

“An obvious, urgent focus for MSF”

Dr. Francis Varaine, leader of the MSF working group on Tuberculosis, explains MSF’s priorities over the next 10 years. Voices from the Field - 22 Mar 2018

Until March 2016, thousands of people fleeing war and persecution were arriving on Greek islands every day before continuing their journeys across Europe.
However, the closure of the Balkan route and the EU deal with Turkey in March left migrants and refugees stranded, without access to basic services, adequate shelter or information on their legal status. MSF shifted its focus from providing lifesaving surgery and medical care to people on the move to addressing the specific needs of those stuck in unsanitary camps.

Greece

"Stolen hope" – Asylum seekers still stranded in Greece

“I am a human being with emotions and passion and dreams, I am not an animal” Photo Story - 22 Mar 2018

Nyajech Gathuoth ,28 and her child Lord Dal, 1 year, sit on a bed in the Kule Health Center.

Ethiopia

War-weary South Sudanese find emergency medical care

Since it began in December 2013, the conflict in South Sudan has forced over two million people from their homes. For those living in the east of the country, the refugee camps in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region offer the best sanctuary. Voices from the Field - 21 Mar 2018

In a nightmarish day on the Mediterranean yesterday, 99 survivors from a sinking rubber boat were rescued by the Aquarius, a search and rescue vessel run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and SOS MEDITERRANEE, but an unknown number of men, women and children are missing, presumed drowned. Two women are confirmed dead.

“The scene was devastating, with many urgent medical cases in quick succession. They just kept coming, one after another, unconscious and not breathing,” said MSF nurse Aoife Ni Mhurchu.

Dozens of people were already in the sea when the Aquarius arrived at the scene around 9.30am, and the rubber boat was already deflating. All floating devices were deployed from Aquarius, rafts were launched and the rescue team started pulling people from the sea.

The MSF medical team on board the Aquarius resuscitated six young children, and one woman. Despite their best efforts they were unable to resuscitate two other women who had drowned.

“It is absolutely heartbreaking. These women were mothers. We’re now trying to care for their very young children who remain onboard Aquarius” said Ni Mhurchu.

All medical emergencies together with their caretakers were evacuated from Aquarius by an Italian Navy Helicopter to Sfax, Tunisia – a total of sixteen people. This included all six resuscitated children and several women with water on their lungs. The MSF medical team also treated many severe fuel burns, as well as over a dozen mild to moderate hypothermia cases. Many survivors were disorientated and confused as a result of inhaling fuel which had leaked into the rubber boat.

Mediterranean migration

European governments are obstructing lifesaving rescues and returning people to unsafe Libya

MSF calls out Italian and other European governments, condemning all actions which prevent lifesaving rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean and that return people to Libya. Statement - 21 Mar 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.

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Letter to the doctors of East Ghouta