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Lucas Matagodi at Lianda IDP camp in Mueda. Lucas Matangodi Shilongo is over 70 years old, but he doesn't know exactly how old. He is in Lyanda IDP camp in Mueda district, far from his home in Nangade district further north. 

"If we were at home we would know how to get food, but not here. 

Many of Lucas' neighbours in the camp are also from Nangade. The war there forced thousands of people to flee. Lucas says that in one of the attacks, insurgents killed his wife, one of his children and another of his grandchildren. He cries when he remembers them, especially his wife. He misses her. He is devastated.

"I dream that I'm running away and falling. I dream that I am being chased," he says. 

Lucas lives with his sister and other relatives in one of the windowed cottages built in this part of the camp. His daughter cooks with her granddaughter inside the hut. In the next room, where the conversation takes place, there is a tin roof and an empty sack of rice from India. Lucas recalls the attack on his village. 
"They came in and burnt the houses, they kidnapped many people, I was sleeping in the forest, because they had already tried to attack twice and we were waiting for them, the people had left their houses pre-emptively and were mostly sleeping in the forest on the day of the attack. They attacked during sunset. They burnt houses.

It was not then that his wife, son and grandson were killed. It was in another attack. Many of the camp residents report fleeing several villages and suffering several attacks along the way. 

"Before that attack, my wife went to another village to visit my son, and on the same day the insurgents attacked, captured the village and killed my wife, son and grandson. The other grandchildren fled and they were the ones who informed us". 
Lucas went to the mobile clinic set up by Médecins Sans Frontières in Lyanda camp today for the first time to seek relief. He needs psychological help. 
"On a daily basis, I think mainly of my wife. I am alone. Sometimes I cry. When I wake up, I'm no longer sleepy and I start to think. I feel bad for my grandchildren, I don't want to talk to them about what happened. I don't have any more worries, because I have the support of my grandchildren. What I think about is that I will never be able to see my wife again. 
"For the moment I don't think about going back. I want to stay because I am safe here, what worries me is only the food, because it is not enough".
Africa

Mozambique

Learn about our medical projects in Mozambique, where we provide specialised care to help curb the country's HIV epidemic while also assisting people in conflict-ridden Cabo Delgado. Country
 
Medical consultation in Korbalesi.
Asia & Pacific

Nepal

MSF first worked in Nepal in 2002 and closed our last project in 2020. Country
 
The situation for migrants at the border between Nicaragua and Honduras has worsened in recent months. Since the beginning of March, a new wave of people who are migrating has been crossing the eastern borders of Honduras. From January to March, more than 30,000 people have entered the country irregularly between the municipalities of Trojes and Danli, both border points with Nicaragua. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) mobile clinics continue to travel to different points in the area to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to people on the move.
 
In the midst of these consultations, MSF teams listen to the stories of people who arrive affected by physical exhaustion and have experienced situations of violence that impact their mental and emotional health. This was the case for Natasha and René, who had to leave Venezuela with their puppy Juan Pablo to cross the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama to Danli.
 
Their testimony was captured in a coloring book to try to bring people closer to this type of situation in a different way; as well, to give health promotion teams something they can provide children waiting at border points with to awaken their interest in drawing, as well as use as a child-friendly support tool to help them see others are also facing this difficult journey.
 
Like Natasha and René, between 80 and 160 people are treated every day at the MSF clinic for different health conditions. In 2022, the teams provided more than 17,000 medical consultations at two border points in the country: Danli and Trojes. Of these people, a large percentage are minors, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases.
The Americas

Nicaragua

Discover how we delivered medical humanitarian assistance in Nicaragua. Country
 
Patients and relatives of patients entering one of the MSF wards in the District Hospital of Magaria, that is supported by MSF in paediatrics and malnutrition.
Africa

Niger

Niger is affected by violence and displacement around its border regions. Country
 
People looking for treatment for their malnourished children arrive at MSF ATFC located in Riko village, Katsina State, Nigeria, June 2022.
Africa

Nigeria

Regular disease outbreaks, malnutrition, and violence continue to endanger people's lives in Nigeria. Country
 
MSF’s health promotion (HP) team conducts a health education session for women in a rural village of Dadu. The focus of the HP session is on the importance of hygiene, the prevention of malaria and other diseases and nutrition. February 2023
Asia & Pacific

Pakistan

Access to healthcare remains a challenge in Pakistan, especially for people in isolated rural communities, urban slums and areas affected by conflict. Country
 
Youssef Al-Khishawi, an MSF water and sanitation agent, helps children carry water to their tent in the Tal Al-Sultan area of the southern Gaza town of Rafah, on January 27, 2024.
He says: “In a normal situation, one person needs two to three liters of drinking water per day. Now, with the current shortage, the average for one family of six is one gallon of water (3.8 litres).” 

“The main challenge we face in distributing water is the lack of fuel to pump and transport it,” says Al-Khishawi. “The second is the lack of proper roads for our trucks to drive on, because there are tents even on the asphalt. The third is that there are no water distribution points – even they have been bombed. Water pipes, streets and infrastructures are destroyed.”
Middle East & North Africa

Palestine

We provide medical and psychological assistance to people affected by the ongoing conflict in Palestine, continuing our long-running mental health programmes on the West Bank and support to victims of burns and trauma in the Gaza Strip. We also provide surgical and post-operative care for people wounded during the Great March of Return protests. Country
 
Border between Jimi and North Waghi districts, Jiwaka province, PNG
Asia & Pacific

Papua New Guinea

We are working to improve access to care for survivors of violence in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands region. Country
 
The MSF intervention strategy, in collaboration with Paraguay’s Ministry of Health, consists in bringing Chagas diagnosis and treatment closer to the most isolated communities and building health staff capacities so that they are able to see to the needs of the affected people
The Americas

Paraguay

MSF first worked in Paraguay in 2010 and closed its projects in 2013. Country
 
A Venezuelan migrant looks out from the malecón of the Tumbes River in central Tumbes.
The Americas

Peru

MSF teams in Peru have responded to earthquakes and pandemics, such as COVID-19, and have treated marginalised people for HIV. Country
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.

Learn more