An attack on a village in the Diffa region of Niger on 25 November has left 18 dead and 16 wounded, according to local authorities. The wounded were treated on site by local health staff, while six people with severe injuries have been transferred to Diffa hospital with the help of a team from MSF. Press Release - 27 Nov 2015

Mediterranean migration

Meeting the most pressing needs at the Calais Jungle

MSF hadn’t expected to build wooden shelters in Calais. The refugees who ended up at the “Jungle” site didn’t expect to stay for long. Calais was to be just one phase of their journey, but it has become nearly impossible to continue on to England. With winter approaching, MSF will provide shelters to protect them from the cold, in collaboration with a project initiated by volunteers. Project Update - 27 Nov 2015

Mustafa is only 11 years old but he has already been detained for interrogation. He lives in a makeshift shed with 21 other people from his extended family. He has seven siblings and his parents live in Jericho, one hour drive away with their sheep, where he goes on the weekends. He likes math and Arabic besides science and would like to work with his father in a supermarket and looking after the sheep.
Mustafa is only 11 years old but he has already been detained for interrogation. He lives in a makeshift shed with 21 other people from his extended family. He has seven siblings and his parents live in Jericho, one hour drive away with their sheep, where he goes on the weekends. He likes math and Arabic besides science and would like to work with his father in a supermarket and looking after the sheep.

Palestine

'What they see during the day, they dream at night.”

Occupied Minds looks at the mental health support offered to the Bedouin children of the Negev desert through the story of Mustafa. The boy is only 11 and he has already been detained for interrogation. He lives in a makeshift shed with 21 other people from his extended family. Voices from the Field - 27 Nov 2015

During April 14th launch event MSF set up a tent to test people on their HIV status.<br/> In Ndhiwa, Kenya, Mrs Debona Usuri is 70 years old. She has already been tested negative previously, but she came back to the test tent during the event to make sure her status didn’t change. *** 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.

HIV/AIDS

Despite better access to treatment, many AIDS patients in African hospitals still die

A new MSF study shows that 50% of AIDS inpatients in Homa Bay hospital, Kenya, are failing their treatment. Press Release - 27 Nov 2015

Portrait of Sayed a 16-year-old from Herat in Afghanistan. He is travelling from Iran with his aunt, her husband and Sayed’s cousin. His journey came to an abrupt end when he reached the border between Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia on November 19, the day when Balkan countries started to accept only certain nationalities to cross their borders.

Mediterranean migration

“I had no choice but to run“

The new procedures of segregation by nationality can produce dramatic effects and we fear that a part of the transiting people will be forced to go into hiding again, where they will have no access to any humanitarian assistance Voices from the Field - 26 Nov 2015

South Africa

Chose life – chose treatment

The fact is that nobody should be dying of AIDS today, nobody should even be infecting others: as long as you are on dutiful, daily and lifelong treatment, you have close to zero risk of passing on the virus to your partner or unborn child.

So why is it that AIDS is still killing 140,000 South Africans every year, and infecting three times this number - the equivalent of the entire population of Khayelitsha? Project Update - 26 Nov 2015

Portrait of Hala, her husband Mahmoud and their son Wail outside a Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) mobile clinic in Sid.

'We are from Homs in Syria. My husband and myself have studied Agricultural Engineering, that is how we have met each other, at the university. Our son Wail is one and a half years old. We have fled from the war in our country and have spent some time in Lebanon before we started our journey to Europe. We want to go to Germany, because we have family living there. We made this journey together with Wails grandparents. We want to go to Germany, because we have family there. We would like to continue our studies there.
From Turkey we took a small boat to Greece. The crossing was very dangerous: The boat was full and there were waves, we were very afraid. The trip is really exhausting. We have been on the road for days, and Wail is crying almost all the time. I'm so tired. He is sick, has not eaten for two days and he coughs. He only accepts rice, but I don't know where to find it for him, we are all the time on the road. I want to have him examined by a doctor, that's why I came to the clinic while we wait to cross the border to Croatia. I hope that we reach Germany soon.'

Mediterranean migration

Hundreds stranded without aid as new border control measures come into force

One week after the arbitrary decisions taken by Western Balkans governments to allow the entrance in their territory to certain nationalities only, thousands are still stranded at the border between Greece and FYROM without information and adequate humanitarian assistance, forced to find alternative and more dangerous routes. Crisis Update - 26 Nov 2015

Statement by Christopher Stokes, MSF General Director

The US version of events leaves MSF with more questions than answers. The frightening catalogue of errors illustrates gross negligence on the part of US forces, and violations of the rules of war. Statement - 25 Nov 2015

"One day, a woman arrived from Hangu, in the FATA area after a four hour-long drive. She had been referred by the MSF hospital there for "twins". She had already had four children, and when she arrived with her husband and her mother-in-law she was extremely tired, dehydrated and in early pre-term labour. After two weeks, thanks to our ultra sound machine, some specialised medication and the skill of our staff, we were able to plan a safe vaginal delivery and she gave birth to not two but three small but healthy babies from 1.5 to 1.7 kg, two boys and a girl. They stayed in our neonatal unit for another three weeks before finally being able to go home" Midwife Amy Le Compte with a new born in Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Women's Hospital in Peshawar.

Pakistan

Delivering healthcare to women and children in the communities

Amy Le Compte is a midwife from Gisborne in New Zealand. She just returned from a six- month assignment in MSF Women's Hospital in Peshawar, in the north of Pakistan where, along with daily maternity work, she supported the launch of a new community outreach program to enable access to quality maternity care for poor and marginalised populations. Voices from the Field - 25 Nov 2015

A patient affected by meningitis is cared by an MSF doctor Clement Van Galen.

Epidemics and pandemics

Epidemics: Neglected emergencies?

MSF draws attention to the challenges and choices that may impair effective response to emergencies, epidemics and outbreaks. Report - 25 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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MSF assists victims of new wave of violence in Diffa region

Meeting the most pressing needs at the Calais Jungle

'What they see during the day, they dream at night.”

Despite better access to treatment, many AIDS patients in African hospitals still die

“I had no choice but to run“

Chose life – chose treatment

Hundreds stranded without aid as new border control measures come into force

Statement by Christopher Stokes, MSF General Director

Delivering healthcare to women and children in the communities

Epidemics: Neglected emergencies?

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

79%

79%

16%

16%

5%

5%