Guinea's last Ebola case, Nubia, a baby girl, left the Nongo Ebola Treatment Clinic in Conakry on Saturday 28th November 2015. Nubia is a month old baby , whose mother died after giving birth on October 27th. Guinea will become officially Ebola-free after 42 days if no new cases are reported following the recovery of baby Nubia — thought to be the first baby to survive after being born to an infected mother. Photo Story - 3 Dec 2015

Yemen

Nine wounded in Saudi-led coalition airstrike on MSF clinic in Taiz

On 2 December, three air strikes targeted a park in Taiz city’s Al Houban district, 2 km from MSF’s clinic. The MSF team immediately evacuated the clinic and informed the Saudi-led coalition that their jet planes were mounting an attack nearby. The clinic itself came under attack. The wounded, two of them with critical injuries, were transferred to Al Qaidah and Al Resalah hospitals. MSF supports both hospitals in treating war-wounded patients. Press Release - 3 Dec 2015

PDR TB patient Aisara Goboeva at home in her house in Kysyl Ordo (village)

Tuberculosis

New survey shows outdated policies and practices risk further spread of drug-resistant TB

Urgent phase-out needed for outdated policies of mandatory hospitalisation, re-treatment regimens that contribute to drug resistance, and sub-optimal diagnosis Report - 2 Dec 2015

William Hennequin, MSF Head of Mission, with Hon. Hamilton Orata, deputy governor- Homa Bay County *** Local Caption *** On April 11th, 2014 –Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and local health authorities officially launched a new HIV program that they will jointly run in Ndhiwa sub-county, Homa Bay County, in Western Kenya. In this region, more than one fourth of the population is leaving with HIV.
During the 4 years of activities, the program will aim at reducing the number of new infections among the population as well as the mortality related to HIV. This will be made possible by implementing universal and regular testing for the whole population of Ndhiwa sub county and setting up early quality treatment for people living with HIV as well as providing quality care for people hospitalized. Furthermore, the increase access to viral load testing will help ascertain that patients are at the lowest risk of transmitting the virus
The MSF / Ministry of Health program will focus on simplifying the way healthcare is provided to patients, through an adaptation of medical protocols and the inclusion of non-medical workers in the provision of care. Such medical protocols will include encouraging the community to get tested and receive ART as early as possible if found infected to reduce transmitting the virus to others, as well as to support adherence to the treatment. Systematic screening and provision of ART for all HIV positive pregnant women will be implemented, in order to reduce mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of the virus. HIV testing program will also be integrated in routine immunization programs for young children. Medical male circumcision will also be key in impacting the rate at which men get infected.

Kenya

To curb the HIV epidemic, “clear objectives and patience are the keys”

In June 2014, MSF started a pilot project in Ndhiwa, a sub-county in western Kenya, aiming to curb the HIV epidemic there: one adult in four is HIV-positive and 2 in 100 get infected every year. William Hennequin, MSF representative in Kenya, presents some of the project’s achievements and challenges. Voices from the Field - 2 Dec 2015

Gorazde. Un point d’eau, pres d’un centre de deplaces. MSF participe depuis la mi-1993, sous la coordination de MSF Belgique, a l’assistance medicale et chirugicale aupres des populations des enclaves de Srebrenica, Zepa et de Gorazde, en Bosnie orientale.

MSF Speaking Out

MSF and the war in the former Yugoslavia 1991-2003 (PDF, 7.5 MB)

On 14 December 1995, the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords ended the separatist war in former Yugoslavia and created the State of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Twenty years on, MSF reveals how the organization spoke out about a conflict marked by ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, targeted assaults of humanitarian organizations and individuals, and the unfulfilled promises by the International Community.

MSF claimed that mass distributions of aid were simply a ‘humanitarian alibi’ of the international community that lacked the will to take political and military measures to end the conflict. Some MSF leaders even called for an armed intervention against the Bosnian-Serb artillery bombing Sarajevo.

In December 1992, MSF published a report describing the Bosnian Serb policy of ethnic cleansing. They denounced the Bosnian Serbs for hindering supplies to Srebrenica and Gorazde Muslim besieged enclaves. They raised awareness and denounced the lack of protection of the population when the enclaves came under attack in 1994 and 1995 despite being declared safe zones by the UN.

In August 1995, MSF denounced a lack of access to the Serb refugees and from 2000, MSF advocated for parliamentary commissions to be set up to investigate the military and political responsibilities of the States involved in the Srebrenica crisis.

This Speaking Out Case Study explores the variety of questions and dilemmas MSF faced, Among them: to what extent should MSF risk the lives of its staff in order to operate in conflict zones? Should MSF condemn obstacles set up to limit the access to the population if it meant no longer having any access at all? Should MSF denounce the fact that humanitarian aid was presented by the international political leaders as the only solution to the conflict and call for military force, an action that would lead to loss of human life? https://www.msf.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/VA_MSF_and_War%20in%20Former%20Yugo.pdf - 1 Dec 2015

Moukalla, inhabited by 500,000 people, is one of several district affected by the storms. At some 75 km away on the west coast, rains and high winds have caused damage in the district of Boroom-Mayfa and needs are similar. The team has provided 14 water tanks to more than 430 displaced families living in the district.

Yemen

MSF provides help to people affected by the cyclones in the province of Hadramaut

Two cyclones in one week hit the southeast coast of Yemen early November and did major damage. Hundreds of families have lost their homes in the provinces of Hadramaut. In Moukalla, the main city of the governorate, small houses have not withstood the tornado, torrents of water spilled into the city and destroyed bridges and infrastructures. Project Update - 1 Dec 2015

Syria

Double-tap bombing on MSF-supported hospital – hospital partially destroyed – patients under treatment died in transit

A double-tap barrel bombing on Saturday 28 November on an MSF supported hospital in a besieged zone in northern Homs governorate, Syria, has caused 7 deaths, the partial destruction of the hospital and an influx of 47 wounded patients needing to be transferred to nearby field hospitals, some of whom died en route. Project Update - 1 Dec 2015

MSF Speaking Out

MSF and the War in the Former Yugoslavia 1991-2003

In this case study, MSF reveals the constraints, questions and dilemmas inherent to its public positioning in the context of a conflict marked by ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and repeated attacks on humanitarian action. Speaking Out Case Studies - 1 Dec 2015

A man holds antiretroviral drugs at an activist meeting in Soshanguve, a township outside of Pretoria on April 16, 2015.

HIV/AIDS

HIV: Antiretroviral drugs fail to consistently reach patients in countries most affected by HIV/AIDS

This report is a first of its kind, looking at the availability of ARVs at patient level. Whilst shortages due to international suppliers’ inability to meet demand are acknowledged, lack of drug availability in local clinics, stemming from failure to ensure “last mile” delivery is not monitored and therefore woefully ignored. Report - 30 Nov 2015

Hermenegilda. Albazine’s Health Center. Maputo, Mozambique.

Access to medicines

Stockouts: Testimonies from patients and medical staff

Testimonies from AIDS patients. “Once I was two weeks without my ARVs. When I arrived at the health centre I was told there was no nurse there and no one found an alternative solution for me, so I went back home empty handed and desperate, " Sanculani Langui, from Marara Centro, Tete province, Mozambique. Voices from the Field - 30 Nov 2015

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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Nubia, the first newborn to survive Ebola