Interview with Dr Louis Albert Massing about the worst measles epidemic in Katanga since 2011. Voices from the Field - 10 Jun 2015

Mohammad Akhtar 40 years old with his daughter Rubbina 10. From Mamozai - took them 6 hours to get to the hospital by foot. His wife has a kidney problem. 7 children. Rubbina has Leishmaniasis - skin condition.

Pakistan

Gallery: Behind the Headlines

A photography exhibition exploring the lives and stories of the residents of Kurram Agency, Pakistan, by photographer Sa'adia Khan and journalist Shaista Aziz Photo Story - 10 Jun 2015

MSF staff collect a suspected Ebola patient from an ambulance that broke down just before reaching MSF Ebola management centre in Kailahun. The ambulance has come from the Kissi Tang Chiefdom, a three hour drive from Kailahun. December 2014.

Ebola and haemorrhagic fevers

Ebola healthcare workers: a hazardous and isolating job

This paper discuss the high risks healthcare workers faced in combating Ebola. Journal article - 10 Jun 2015

Niger

“They need somewhere to settle in peace to regain their dignity”

Interview with Aissami Abdou, MSF field coordinator in Diffa, Niger Voices from the Field - 9 Jun 2015

Côte d'Ivoire

Strengthening maternity care in Katiola

"Around half of babies continue to be born at home in this region of Côte d’Ivoire and, when there are complications, the distance to health facilities poses a real problem for the health of both mother and baby." Voices from the Field - 9 Jun 2015

An old man has come to MSF mobile clinic in Shurawa Hama Gerib, a Kurdish village a few miles from Tuz Kurmatu now hosting 170 IDP families, because of high blood pressure: “You might not believe it, says his son who has come with him, but this man has a soft spot for women you know. Back at home in Dakuk he fell in love with a neighbour, a widow just as old as him. She is also displaced now living in in Tuz, and he calls her up every day and spends ages chatting to her on the phone. He misses her so much, not one day passes without him calling his beloved Kadjja ”..

Iraq

Increasing numbers of Iraqis in need of humanitarian assistance

“Iraq is experiencing its worst humanitarian crisis of recent decades. Thousands of people, particularly in central Iraq, are not receiving the humanitarian assistance they urgently need.” Voices from the Field - 8 Jun 2015

Syria

“Bodies were everywhere - on the tables, in the hallways, on the floor.”

An MSF-supported hospital director describes horror of a mass-casualty influx in northwestern Syria Voices from the Field - 5 Jun 2015

Pina, a psychologist with MSF, during a group therapy session at the Gerico CAS (Centro di seconda accoglienza – secondary reception centre). MSF provides psychological support in Sicily to help monitor migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as often the difficulties of the journey to Europe can lead to various psychological issues.

Italy

MSF provides psychological first aid to survivors of fatal sea crossing

On Sunday 31 May, MSF provided emergency psychological support to 18 out of 454 migrants who had been rescued at sea. Early Monday morning, the MSF Bourbon Argos rescued 325 more people from three different boats. Project Update - 3 Jun 2015

The corpse of a patient who passed away is given back to the family for funerals after being decontaminated by the MSF teams. It was washed with chlorine solution and put it in a hermetic bag also disinfected to leave the high risk area.

Ebola and haemorrhagic fevers

G7: The world is no better prepared today than a year ago to respond to Ebola

The global health system remains unprepared for mass disease epidemics. Press Release - 3 Jun 2015

12 days ago, Mazen Abdu of Sa’ada, his wife and three children escaped Sa’ada on his motorbike. The family keeps the motorbike in the classroom where they live since they arrived Khamer.
“When the airstrikes were so close from our house, we decided to go to a safer place and leave everything behind,” says Mazen. His only way to escape was his motorbike.
“The five of us travelled from Sa’ada to Khamer on this motorbike. We could only take 10 kilos of flower and a small blanket. Our trip from Sa’ada to Khamer was not easy. We spent two days and one night travelling. We did not have money to stay in a hotel or buy food and to crown it all, one of the motorbike’s tires was punctured. I was waiting hopelessly in the road with my family until somebody helped me fix it and we continued our way to Khamer. Some good people offered us food and hosted us in their home for the night.”
Mazen’s wife, Um Alia, said that her children were scared of the bombings that they lost their appetite and that when she tried to force her two daughters to eat when they were travelling, they both vomited. “My daughters were terrified by the sound of the bombings and were shivering.”
The family lives now in a classroom in one of Khamer schools. Some 500 IDP families live in public places and some of them live in tents.
“We left everything behind; our home, our neighbors, our life. In fact, I doubt there is life in Sa’ada and I still ignore what happened to our house.”

Yemen

Testimonies from displaced people in Khamer

There has been an influx of IDPs from Sa’ada to Khamer, fleeing their homes due to the deteriorating situation and airstrikes in Sa’ada governorate. Many have been living with families in Khamer or in rented houses, while some occupy public places such as schools, and others live in tents on the outskirts of the town. Voices from the Field - 3 Jun 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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DRC: Measles in Katanga - "We’re facing a genuine epidemic emergency."