In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.
We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.
Based in Paris, CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions. They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field.
Based in Geneva, UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action.
Based in Brussels, MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration, refugees, aid access, health policy and the environment in which aid operates.
This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.
SAMU provides strategic, clinical and implementation support to various MSF projects with medical activities related to HIV and TB. This medical unit is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, and other infectious diseases. This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences, the World Health Organization (WHO), other renowned international medical institutions, and medical and scientific journals.
Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris, assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work.
The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.
Read through case studies where we openly examine and analyse all our actions and decision-making processes during humanitarian emergencies that have led us to speak out.
Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations, conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or excluded from health care.
A collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases, founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world.
The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in this devastating war. Over 11 million people have been uprooted and humanitarian assistance has been consistently obstructed or denied.
Civilian areas have been routinely bombed and deprived of assistance, and access to healthcare remains extremely poor in many areas. MSF’s presence is significantly constrained despite the immense needs. The Syrian government has not granted MSF authorisation to operate in the country, and our presence in areas outside government control is limited by insecurity. We run or directly support 13 health facilities in northern Syria, and provide remote support to around 25 health facilities countrywide.
0
647,600
outpatient consultations
0
30,100
patients admitted to hospital
0
10,000
major surgical interventions
Why are we here?
01Persecution of medics
Since the 2011 protests in Syria, medics treating the wounded have been persecuted by the government and forced to develop underground networks. As the conflict escalated, so did the crackdown on medical assistance for people in opposition-held areas. Unable to obtain government authorisation to aid the sick and wounded, we started by supporting underground medical networks and entered northern Syria to provide medical care in an area largely cut-off from official assistance channels.
What used to be a fully functional health system has been devastated. Hundreds of medical facilities have been bombed, many medical staff have been killed or have fled, and supplies are lacking. We've seen the resurgence of preventable diseases, and inadequate services to meet common needs, let alone deal with mass casualties and acute emergencies. Syrian health staff have been forced to improvise operating theatres and work in deplorable conditions, overwhelmed by the emergencies they face.
03Everyday health needs
The bulk of our activity in Syria focuses on the health needs of people with common illnesses, pregnant women, and improving vaccination coverage to prevent childhood diseases. We see many people with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes, where lack of treatment can lead to serious complications. Mobile clinics have increasingly become a central part of our response, and mental health needs are also significant, as many families have lost loved ones and insecurity prevails.
04Treating the wounded
Early on, the systematic bombing of civilian areas made it a priority to help treat the wounded. We opened surgical facilities in the north, provided supplies and training to health staff across the country, and set up cross-border trauma care in Jordan. As living conditions deteriorated in the north, producing more injuries from domestic accidents, we set up a surgical burns unit. Over the past year we've been treating an increasing number of people wounded by landmines and unexploded ordnances.
05Mass displacement
An estimated 6.5 million people are internally displaced in Syria. Closed borders, appalling living conditions and limited assistance have compounded their suffering. People fleeing violence live in camps, improvised shelters or with host families. Our main programmes are in the governorates of Aleppo, Idlib, Raqqa and Hassakeh. In addition to providing medical care, we carry out water and sanitation activities and distribute relief items, also in the south of Syria.
06Areas under siege
Siege warfare has been widely used in Syria, at its most extreme in the town of Madaya, where men, women and children have starved to death. Basic essentials such as medical supplies are restricted amid intense bombing and shelling. Even medical evacuations of sick children are often denied. Unable to enter these areas, we remotely supported medical facilities in besieged areas. One-by-one, the areas have been taken over by the military and there are now very few still under siege.
2009
2009
Year MSF first worked in country
Featured
Syria
In dust and despair, displaced Syrians wait
8 Jun 2018
Photo Story
Raqqa - The hidden deadly threat
4 Apr 2018
Photo Story
Syria
Unacceptable humanitarian failure
Op-Ed11 Mar 2015
Syria
Report documents war wounded and war dead in MSF-supported medical facilities in Syria
Report17 Feb 2016
video
The Suffering You Don't Think of in Syria (ENG)
Syria
The suffering you don't think of in Syria
Interview with our medical coordinator
When you think of war, you might not think about what happens to children who go unvaccinated or patients struggling with diabetes. But while bombs and gunfire cause death and destruction across large parts of Syria, many more people are threatened by the collapsing medical system. The long-term consequences can be tragic. In northern Syria, our teams are trying to get people the medical attention they need–from preventive care to treatment for chronic diseases. In this video, our medical coordinator in Syria in August 2017 responds to three questions about the main key needs our teams see.
Lebanon
One year after the battle, medical needs remain high in Arsal
Project Update16 Aug 2018
Syria
MSF Hassakeh hospital seeing an increase in casualties of airstrikes in northeast Syria
Project Update21 Jun 2018
Syria
In dust and despair, displaced Syrians wait
Project Update8 Jun 2018
Syria
Seeking to assist Syrians, wherever they are in need of help
Press Release23 May 2018
Syria
Treating patients with chronic conditions in a war context
Project Update16 May 2018
Syria
Newly displaced Syrians face multiple challenges in Idlib and northern Hama
Project Update14 May 2018
Reports and Analysis
Syria
MSF reports show more assistance is needed to meet healthcare needs
Report20 Dec 2017
Syria
Explosive devices have deadly impact on people fleeing or returning home
Report2 Apr 2017
Syria
Changes in medical practice in Syria
Report13 Mar 2017
Syria
Review of attack on Al Quds Hospital Aleppo City
Report30 Sep 2016
Syria
Our bombs are smarter than yours
Opinion22 Feb 2016
Syria
Report documents war wounded and war dead in MSF-supported medical facilities in Syria
Report17 Feb 2016
Syria
Aleppo’s reality - Daily life under barrel bombs
Report11 Mar 2015
Syria
Aleppo: Medical Aid Besieged
Report10 Mar 2015
Syria
Medicine as a weapon of persecution
Voices from the Field8 Feb 2012
Related topics
Crisis Settings
War and conflict
Around one-third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for populations caught in armed conflict.
In Focus
Attacks on medical care
Attacks against medical facilities and health workers, whether deliberate or indiscriminate, are part of generalised violence and atrocities committed against civilians in armed conflict. They deprive populations of health services, often when they need them the most.
Crisis Settings
Refugees, IDPs and people on the move
There are many reasons for flight, including war, persecution, conflict, natural disaster, destitution and repression. With health and well-being jeopardised, the lives of the most vulnerable can be at risk.
Middle East & North Africa
Jordan
Jordan has registered over 650,000 Syrian refugees since 2011, according to the UNHCR. Lack of proper legal documentation, financial constraints and border closures mean that their access to healthcare is extremely limited.
67,600
outpatient consultations
8,300
individual mental health consultations
2,200
major surgical interventions
Middle East & North Africa
Iraq
After years of armed conflict and instability, the health sector in Iraq is struggling to get back on its feet. Many health facilities are destroyed and those still operating lack medical supplies and qualified health workers.
42,600
individual mental health consultations
6,200
births assisted
4,600
major surgical interventions
Middle East & North Africa
Lebanon
More than 1.5 million Syrians have fled into Lebanon since the conflict began in 2011, making Lebanon and Jordan the countries hosting the largest proportion of refugees in the world.
291,500
outpatient consultations
11,100
individual mental health consultations
5,600
births assisted
Europe & Central Asia
Turkey
Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world – over three million – of whom 2.8 million are Syrian.
