After a decade working with populations affected by the Balkan wars, MSF ended its work in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001.
In 2018, we returned to assist migrants and refugees escaping war and persecution in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
As new routes open in the northern Balkans, thousands of migrants and refugees are sheltering in informal camps and squats along the Bosnian border with Croatia.
Those sheltering in Bihać and Velika Kladusa have limited access to water. While some showers and bathrooms have been installed, many continue to wash with collected bottled water. © Kamila Stepien / MSF
Providing care for migrants and refugees
Migrants and refugees arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and beyond. Their objective, as for all along the Balkan route, is to flee conflict and poverty in their countries of origin and search for better living conditions for them and their families. Living conditions in the informal settlements remain alarmingly inadequate, especially during winter.
In cooperation with local medical authorities, MSF operates a small mobile clinic to address the most basic, urgent healthcare needs at migration hotspots, as well as to refer more complex yet urgent cases to secondary healthcare.
Find out more about Bosnia and Herzegovina
Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Afghanistan since 1980, providing emergency surgical care, responding to conflict and natural disasters, and treating people cut off from healthcare.
MSF worked in Angola from 1983 until 2007. Why were we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Social violence/Healthcare exclusion
MSF worked in Argentina from 2001 until 2003. Why were we there? Providing essential medicines and supplies
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion Natural disaster
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Healthcare exclusion Natural disaster
MSF worked in Ecuador until 2007. Why were we there? Endemic/Epidemic disease Natural disaster
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/heathcare exclusion
Haiti’s healthcare system remains precarious in the wake of natural disasters and ongoing political and economic crises. Ongoing disasters have led to Haiti becoming the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Why are we there? Armed conflict Social violence Healthcare exclusion Endemic/epidemic disease
An MSF team in Hong Kong opened a project at the end of January focusing on health education for vulnerable people. Community engagement is a crucial activity of any outbreak response and in Hong Kong, this focuses on groups who are less likely to have access to important medical information, such as the socio-economically disadvantaged. The team is also targeting those who are more vulnerable to developing severe disease if they are infected, such as the elderly.
MSF worked in Indonesia between 1995 and 2009 Why were we there? Natural disaster
Why are we there?
- Refugees and IDPs
- Armed conflict
Latest links
MSF ended its operations in Liberia in 2012. Why were we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there?
- Armed conflict
- Access to healthcare
Latest links
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Providing comprehensive emergency healthcare to people in remote regions of Pakistan is a priority, yet accessibility and security are a constraint for both Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and patients.
MSF worked in Rwanda from 1991 until 2007.
Why were we there? Conflict Healthcare exclusion Endemic/Epidemic disease
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion
Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence Healthcare exclusion