“We’re calling not only for unconditional protection for these young people as children at risk but also for the upholding of the presumption of minority" Press Release - 28 Nov 2017

The last two functional ambulances in Al-Marj neighbourhood (in the East Ghouta besieged area near Damascus) were destroyed beyond repair in an aerial bomb attack on Monday 05 December 2016. They were parked in the hospital’s warehouse/garage, very near to the makeshift hospital’s location. Two hospital cars, used to transporting supplies and medical personnel, were also destroyed in the blast. The lack of ambulances will have an impact on the ability to quickly treat wounded when there is bombing or shelling in the area, but above all it will affect the capacity to refer the most sick patients to larger secondary referral hospitals. The makeshift hospital in Al-Marj is not equipped for complex or long-term in-patient hospital care, and this could have a big impact on the ability to refer patients for appropriate secondary care.

Syria

Medical services stretched beyond limit after shelling in East Ghouta

MSF calls for due precautions to be taken by all belligerents, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, to avoid hitting civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals and residential areas. Statement - 27 Nov 2017

Papua New Guinea

MSF urges access to asylum seekers and refugees in Manus Island Transit Centres

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges Papua New Guinea (PNG) authorities to give its team access to the asylum seekers and refugees in Manus Island transit centres, to assess refugees’ conditions and provide essential medical care. Statement - 25 Nov 2017

Nigeria

What’s happening in the northeast?

More than two million people have fled their homes, with little chance of returning in the near future. An unknown number of people are out of reach of any humanitarian assistance. Project Update - 23 Nov 2017

Iraq

From chaos to the provision of care

It is crucially important for this work to continue. The rebuilding of essential medical services is of life-saving significance during this phase of Mosul's post-war recovery. Voices from the Field - 23 Nov 2017

Central African Republic

MSF suspends humanitarian relief activities following attack in Bangassou

Following a violent armed robbery on Monday 20 November that threatened the lives of its workers, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has evacuated all 58 national and international staff, and suspended medical operations from Bangassou, a town in southeastern Central African Republic. Press Release - 22 Nov 2017

A young girl from Tondo, Manila, is seen in a Likhaan clinic for her free HPV vaccination. Likhaan provides reproductive healthcare services for low income families in the Philippines, where there remains a gap in women's awareness of their reproductive rights.

Philippines

Supporting young girls in the slums of Manila

Over 300,000 people live crammed into the slums of Tondo, which cling to the docks of the port of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. In these deprived districts, MSF launched a large-scale operation to vaccinate 25,000 young girls against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), one of the main causes of cervical cancer. Photo Story - 21 Nov 2017

Syria

MSF teams respond to car explosion in Al-Hasakah, north-east Syria

MSF teams responded over the weekend to a mass casualty incident after a car exploded late on Friday near Al-Hasakah, in north-east Syria, killing and injuring people fleeing the fighting in Deir ez-Zor. Statement - 20 Nov 2017

Patients wait for medical treatment in the urgent outpatient waiting area at MSF's medical facility in Kutupalong on October 4.

Since August 25, MSF has treated more than 30,000 patients in the Cox’s Bazar area, effectively five times the number of people who sought treatment at MSF facilities during the same period last year. The main morbidity among these patients is respiratory tract infections and diarrheal diseases, which are directly related to the poor hygiene conditions in the informal settlements.

As a result of the massive increase in demand for our medical services, an additional 800 staff have been hired, bringing the total number of staff on the ground in Cox’s Bazar from around 200 people to 1000.

In addition, MSF has also expanded its inpatient capacity at its Kutupalong clinic from 50 to 70 beds, with new wards and isolation capacity for infectious diseases. The clinic, which provides basic healthcare services and is MSF’s largest health facility in Cox’s Bazar, has been running since 2009.

Rohingya refugee crisis

Crisis update – November 2017

Since 25 August, more than 620,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh. Crisis Update - 20 Nov 2017

Yemen

Misery deepens as borders close

"Coalition leaders must immediately grant unhindered access to and within Yemen, so that humanitarian assistance can reach those most in need." Op-Ed - 20 Nov 2017

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 opens day centre for unaccompanied minors in Paris