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What we do

Médecins Sans Frontières brings medical humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict, natural disasters, epidemics or healthcare exclusion.

We treat patients suffering from a wide array of illnesses and health needs. Here you will find some of the main needs we see and what we do about them.

Discover the main crises we work in, the consequences faced by affected people and challenges in delivering care.

 
Treating multi drug resistant TB and HIV/AIDS in Manipur, India
Crisis Settings

Access to medicines

Unaffordable, unavailable, not adapted - people around the world face these challenges in accessing lifesaving medicines.
 
medicine for the treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis
Medical activities

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a serious and growing phenomenon in contemporary medicine and has emerged as one of the pre-eminent public health concerns of the 21st century.
 
East Aleppo
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.
 
Migrants and Refugees in Mexico shelters
In Focus

Central American migration

An estimated 500,000 people a year flee violence and poverty in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, heading north through Mexico to find safety. The levels of violence in the region are comparable to that of war zones MSF has worked in for decades.
 
Sierra Leone - Barriers to accessing health care 2022
Medical activities

Child health

Around the world, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are working to protect the health of children.
 
Yemen Acute Watery Diarrhea
Medical activities

Cholera

Although easy to prevent and treat, cholera affects up to 4 million people worldwide per year, resulting in up to 140,000 deaths.
 
Mobile clinic in Ranobe
Crisis Settings

Climate emergency

The health impacts of a changing climate are already a burden for many people in the world, including those MSF teams assist.
 
Illustration of fightings in Khartoum, Sudan
In Focus

Conflict in Sudan

Find out the latest information on MSF's response to the conflict in Sudan
 
Tackling COVID-19 in Lebanon, through prevention and vaccination
Medical activities

Coronavirus

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, most of which are harmless for humans. However, two types can cause severe lung infections. MSF is currently responding to a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19
 
Covid-19 in Amazon region
Crisis Settings

Epidemics and pandemics

Millions of people still die each year from infectious diseases that are preventable or can be treated.
 
Conflict in Gaza
In Focus

Gaza-Israel war

Learn how MSF teams are responding to the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, Palestine.
 
WANGATA EBOLA TREATMENT CENTRE
Medical activities

Haemorrhagic fevers

Ebola and Marburg haemorrhagic fevers are rare but deadly. Outbreaks can kill 25 to 90 per cent of those infected, spreading fear and panic among affected communities.
 
Bending the Curve - Machar Colony Hepatitis C
Medical activities

Hepatitis C

Worldwide, an estimated 58 million people are infected with the hepatitis C virus, with about 1.5 million new infections occurring per year. While hepatitis C can be cured, few people have access to treatment.
 
MSF nursing team supervisor administers hepatitis E vaccine
Medical activities

Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is transmitted by ingesting water contaminated by an infected person’s faeces. Outbreaks are often documented in places with poor sanitation, like camps for refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs). Hepatitis E commonly causes only a mild short-term illness.
 
Living with HIV/Aids through Conflict and Displacement - Macomia
Medical activities

HIV/AIDS

Around 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes, while 1.3 million people became newly infected with the HIV virus in 2022.
 
20 years providing live-saving treatment to Kala azar patients in Abdurafi
Medical activities

Kala azar

Hundreds of millions of people are at risk of infection with kala azar - one of the world's most dangerous parasitic diseases. Only malaria is more deadly.
 
MSF response to malaria outbreak in Zamfara State, Nigeria
Medical activities

Malaria

Each year, malaria kills over 600,000 people. Three-quarters of all deaths are children under five years of age.
 
Sudanese refugees in Adre, February 2024
Medical activities

Malnutrition

More than 224 million children around the world last year suffered from malnutrition. It is the underlying contributing factor in nearly half of the deaths of children under five years of age.
 
MSF Nurse Gatwech Tuoch immunizes a child against measles
Medical activities

Measles

In 2023, our teams vaccinated 3.3 million people against measles in response to outbreaks. But the highly contagious viral disease remains one of the leading killers of young children.
 
Rotation 1 Rescue 6
In Focus

Mediterranean migration

Every year, thousands of people fleeing war, persecution and poverty at home attempt the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean. Countless lives are lost on the way.
 
Banalia
Medical activities

Meningitis

Meningococcal meningitis is a highly contagious bacterial form of meningitis – a serious inflammation of the meninges – the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
 
Mental Health activities in Batken, Kyrgyzstan
Medical activities

Mental health

Where we work, we may see people with a mental illness or confronting distressing situations, such as violence, loss or displacement. Mental health support can be crucial to help people cope.
 
Mpox in DRC
Medical activities

Mpox

Learn more about MSF's activities in responding to mpox.
 
Philippines: responding to Typhoon Tembin
Crisis Settings

Natural hazards

Within a matter of minutes, natural hazards can affect the lives of tens of thousands of people. Hundreds or even thousands of people can be injured, homes and livelihoods destroyed. Access to clean water, healthcare services and transport can also be disrupted. The impact of each event varies greatly and our response must adapt to each situation.
Cholera intervention in South Kivu
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