What we do

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.

Medical activities

Non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases require lifelong care.

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.