Flood waters have largely receded and people have begun to return to what remains of their homes. Project Update - 21 Oct 2010

Pakistan

Letter from the field: One day in my life - A midwife in Balochistan, Pakistan

Olivia Lowe is a midwife working in Kuchlak, near Quetta in Pakistan's volatile Balochistan province. She manages the antenatal and postnatal care as well as the birthing unit at MSF's mother and child healthcare centre in Kuchlak. This is her first MSF mission. Voices from the Field - 20 Oct 2010

Global

Open letter to the U.S. government about the quality of food aid

"On the eve of World Food Day 2010, I write on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to urge the U.S. to stop supplying nutritionally substandard food to malnourished children in developing countries". - Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director?U.S Section of MSF Press Release - 15 Oct 2010

Global

Reforming quality of global food aid critical to fight childhood malnutrition

Top donor countries must end double standard of supplying nutritionally substandard foods to young children in malnutrition 'hotspots' Press Release - 13 Oct 2010

Houses in the Boubazar slum near Kamrangirchar.<br />In the Kamrangirchar slum of Dhaka - on the banks of one of the most polluted rivers in the world - MSF runs a primary healthcare centre that provides care to children under five and pregnant and lactating women. Nearby, MSF also runs a therapeutic feeding centre. Through a largely home-based programme, these children are being fed with Plumpy Nut, a thick nutrient-rich peanut paste which helps children regain normal body weight.
Kamrangirchar is one of Dhaka's many slum areas, a product of the urban mass migration that makes this capital the world's most rapidly expanding city. Development of public services and infrastructure has struggled to keep pace, and access to affordable health care is very limited. Formerly used as a dumping ground for the city's rubbish, the Kamrangirchar peninsula only started to become heavily populated over the last few decades. Covering just three square kilometres, the area is now home to 400,000 people. Through its presence, MSF hopes to bring its expertise and experience in treating malnutrition so that more children and their mothers can continue to live and grow up healthily.

Bangladesh

Slum conditions in Bangladesh pose health hazards, and malnutrition is a sign of other illnesses

"The level of health awareness in this community is very low, and people have a great deal of superstitious beliefs, such as believing that children may be touched by bad spirits through consuming breast milk or eating fish," Sophie de Montpelier, MSF's field coordinator. "Some mothers believe that a baby with diarrhoea should not be given extra water because the body already contains too much liquid. That's why MSF is investing a lot in health promotion activities here." Project Update - 13 Oct 2010

Haiti

Prefab container hospital could bring a decade of healthcare to Léogâne, Haiti

The hospital was built by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Léogâne within five months and was inaugurated on October 8. Haitian officials attended the ceremony. Project Update - 13 Oct 2010

Global

Mental healthcare a core part of MSF's emergency aid

Many migrants and refugees suffer from psychological trauma as a result of their experiences, the dangerous journey to Malta and general uncertainty for the future. During one group activity organised by MSF, migrants were asked to illustrate their past experiences. "The idea was to encourage them to tell their stories: how they reached Europe, why they escaped from their country, the situation they are in now. They were relieved to be able to get these stories out", said Elisa Finocchiaro, MSF worker who helped organise the activity.
The following is a series of snapshots from MSF mental health programs in Kashmir, Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq. These snapshots sketch some of the complex and painful issues confronted by those who seek counselling, as well as some of the challenges encountered by MSF in providing these services. Project Update - 11 Oct 2010

Honduras

MSF tackles outbreak of dengue fever in Honduras with a new strategy

Due to an alarming increase in dengue fever cases in Honduras this year, MSF has launched an emergency intervention in Tegucigalpa, capital of the Central American country, Honduras, where the majority of cases have been reported. MSF is supporting local health services with a three-pronged approach focusing on medical care, vector control and community education. Such dengue intervention is relatively new for MSF. Project Update - 9 Oct 2010

Balochistan province<br/>Province du Baloutchistan, septembre 2010.<br/>La clinique fixe de MSF à Dera Murad Jamali. Avec les Docteurs Linnea et Kaye dans l'O.T. pour une césarienne avec complication. L'utérus est descendu trop bas suite à plusieurs grossesses. *** Local Caption *** Pakistan - Suite aux inondations qui ont frappées, à partir de juillet 2010, successivement les provinces du Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, du Pendjab, du Sind et du Baloutchistan, MSF a mis en place une réponse d urgence pour venir en aide aux personnes sinistrées : consultations médicales, dispensaires mobiles, distribution d eau potable, activités d assainissement de l eau et distribution de biens de première nécessité.<br/><br/>Pakistan - Following the floods which stroke since the end of July 2010 successively the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pendjab, Sind and Baloutchistan, MSF set up an emergency response to provide aid to affected people: medical consultations, mobile clinics, safe water distribution, water and sanitation activities and non-food items distribution.

Pakistan

Boosting maternal and child healthcare in Dera Murad Jamali, Pakistan

"People in Pakistan, unfortunately, believe that a good delivery has to be short and, as such, practitioners often give large of amounts of oxytocin" sometimes eight times as much as allowed in order to have the quicker deliveries which then leads to more complicated and dangerous births. This is the biggest problem we face here and we are deeply concerned," said Dr Ekdahl. Project Update - 5 Oct 2010

Chad

Chadians face a threefold emergency of hunger, floods and cholera

A long drought in Chad, followed by torrential rains, has destroyed crops, flooded wells and cut off villages. Weakened by malnutrition and without access to clean water, people are particularly vulnerable to cholera outbreaks in the region Project Update - 4 Oct 2010

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)

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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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As emergency phase ends, Pakistan flood victims show symptoms of excessive stress

Letter from the field: One day in my life - A midwife in Balochistan, Pakistan

Open letter to the U.S. government about the quality of food aid

Reforming quality of global food aid critical to fight childhood malnutrition

Slum conditions in Bangladesh pose health hazards, and malnutrition is a sign of other illnesses

Prefab container hospital could bring a decade of healthcare to Léogâne, Haiti

Mental healthcare a core part of MSF's emergency aid

MSF tackles outbreak of dengue fever in Honduras with a new strategy

Boosting maternal and child healthcare in Dera Murad Jamali, Pakistan

Chadians face a threefold emergency of hunger, floods and cholera

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

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79%

16%

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5%

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