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

Syria

MSF-supported hospital in Idlib closed after damage from airstrikes

This latest incident demonstrates the brutality with which healthcare is coming under attack in Syria. Statement - 29 Jan 2018

More than 500 people are now safely onboard Aquarius, a search and rescue vessel run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and SOS MEDITERRANEE, but an unknown number of people are missing presumed drowned after a gruelling day of rescues in the Mediterranean. Teams rendered assistance to three rubber boats in distress that were overloaded with men, women and children, 1 November 2017.

Mediterranean migration

Medical care for refugees and migrants along Central Mediterranean route

Unclear future for refugees amid challenging rescue environment for Aquarius. Voices from the Field - 29 Jan 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

99 survivors rescued from sinking dinghy but many presumed drowned

99 survivors from a sinking rubber boat were rescued by the Aquarius, a search and rescue vessel run by MSF and SOS MEDITERRANEE, but an unknown number of men, women and children are missing, presumed drowned. Press Release - 28 Jan 2018

Afghanistan

Treating mums and babies in Khost, Afghanistan

Obstetrician/Gynaecologist Severine Caluwaerts blogs from a maternity hospital in Afghanistan, where MSF is working to provide women with a safe place to give birth. blogs.msf.org - 26 Jan 2018

Two Rohingya children in Hakimpara makeshift settlement, where more than 32,000 people are sheltering.

Rohingya refugee crisis

Crisis update – January 2018

Since 25 August, we have massively scaled up our operations in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. We now manage 15 health posts, three primary health centres and five inpatient facilities. The main morbidities among our patients are respiratory tract infections and diarrhoeal diseases, which are directly related to the poor shelter, water and sanitation conditions in the settlements. Crisis Update - 26 Jan 2018

An MSF nurse gives a solution to rehydration solution to patients.

Democratic Republic of Congo

MSF steps up cholera support in DRC

“Cholera is affecting the parts of Kinshasa that are densely populated, so it’s crucial to act quickly to prevent the spread of this epidemic." Project Update - 25 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

Colombia

“The violence hasn't eased, it’s just changed its name”

In recent years, the most typical interventions of MSF's emergency team in Colombia have focused on violence or the displacement or confinement generated by violence. Voices from the Field - 24 Jan 2018

South Sudan

“I left my namesake in Old Fangak”

Judith Elavian is a midwife from Kenya. She recently completed her first MSF assignment in Old Fangak, South Sudan. She shares the story of a patient she will never forget. blogs.msf.org - 23 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

Attacks on medical facilities leave people without options