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.
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.
Medical activities
Neglected diseases
MSF teams treat a number of neglected diseases, including noma, Chagas, cutaneous leishmaniasis, in projects across the world.
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.
In Focus
Rohingya refugee crisis
Legally stateless, with very limited options or rights in any country where they have sought refuge, the Rohingya are extremely vulnerable.
Medical activities
Safe abortion care
MSF is committed to providing safe abortion care to reduce avoidable suffering and deaths. Every minute, a woman or girl has an unsafe abortion. .
Medical activities
Sexual violence
Sexual violence affects millions of people, brutally shattering the lives of women, men and children. It is a medical emergency, but there is often a dire lack of healthcare services for victims.
Medical activities
Snakebite
Snakebite is a hidden health crisis. Every year, bites from venomous snakes make up to 2.7 million people sick, nearly 140,000 people die, and a further 400,000 people can be left disfigured and/or disabled.
Crisis settings
Social violence and exclusion
Many people are unable to access healthcare simply because of who they are. They may be afraid to seek help, or are excluded because they are forced to live outside of mainstream societal bounds.
Medical activities
Surgery & trauma care
Médecins Sans Frontières has been providing surgical care for people in precarious contexts for decades.
In Focus
TACTiC – Test, Avoid, Cure Tuberculosis in Children
Tuberculosis affects over 1 million children per year; 200,000 of them die. The TACTiC project – Test, Avoid, Cure Tuberculosis in Children - is a multifaceted project led by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to reduce deaths from TB in children through treatment and preventive treatment.
Medical activities
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s biggest global health crises. Killing 1.3 million people in 2022 TB is the world’s second deadliest infectious disease after COVID-19 (WHO).
Medical activities
Vaccination
MSF teams vaccinate millions of people every year, either as part of routine vaccination, or in response to an outbreak of disease.
Crisis settings
War and conflict
More than one third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for people affected by armed conflict.
Medical activities
Water and sanitation
Clean water and sanitation services are necessities for good health.
Medical activities
Women's health
An estimated 99 per cent of women who die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications live in developing countries. Most of these deaths are preventable.
Medical activities
Yellow fever
Yellow fever can be prevented with a vaccine, yet it's a disease that claims the lives of an estimated 30,000 - 60,000 people each year.
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