France

In France, we work with migrants and refugees, who encounter policies and practices aimed at preventing them from settling or claiming their rights.

Unaccompanied minors are among the most vulnerable, finding themselves confronted by a lack of information, and a maze of administrative bureaucracy. We work in a day centre for unaccompanied minors in Pantin, in the suburbs of Paris, offering respite, medical care and administrative support.

Our teams also run mobile clinics for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Paris and monitor the situation throughout the country.

MSF in France

In France, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) runs a range of activities to assist refugees and migrants – in particular unaccompanied minors – affected by increasingly dissuasive EU policies.

France MSF map

Our activities in 2022

France MSF stats
Highlights of our activities in 2022

In cooperation with other organisations, we continued to run a day centre in Pantin, a suburb of Paris, where we provide medical and psychological support, cultural mediation, and legal and social assistance to unaccompanied minors whose applications for protection had been turned down by the authorities.  

We also advocated better access to healthcare, alerting local authorities to the consequences of precarious living conditions on children’s health. Our teams cared for an increasing number of vulnerable unaccompanied girls, some of whom were pregnant, who had been denied assistance by social services and left without any protection.  

We continued to run mobile clinics in the suburbs of the capital to provide medical consultations, cultural mediation and social support to people living in unsafe conditions, including migrants and unaccompanied minors. These clinics worked as a medical and humanitarian surveillance tool in migrant camps, as they facilitated early detection of medical and humanitarian needs, to which we could alert the local health authorities.  

During the winter, we assisted hundreds of unaccompanied minors who were sleeping on the streets. We also provided logistical and financial support to local organisations and agencies who assist minors who are homeless on a daily basis, by distributing tents and relief items, such as blankets and clothing, to help them cope with the cold.  

Another mobile team provided support to unaccompanied minors living in state-provided accommodation, to ensure that they had access to legal information on their appeal procedure and to help with any follow-up.

In Marseille, we continued to offer multi-disciplinary support to unaccompanied minors with mental and physical vulnerabilities in our 20-bed shelter. We also ran outreach activities and offered logistical and financial support to local organisations working with people in vulnerable circumstances. 

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

MSF worked in Belgium from 1987 to 2009

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/healthcare exclusion Natural disaster

Why are we there? Endemic/Epidemic disease

Cameroon is facing multiple and overlapping crises, including recurrent epidemics, malnutrition due to food insecurity, displacement, and conflict.

Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Armed conflict Healthcare exclusion Natural disaster

The political, economic and military crises of 2002-2010 have taken a severe toll on the Ivorian health system.

MSF worked in Ecuador until 2007. Why were we there? Endemic/Epidemic disease Natural disaster

Find out more about MSF's work in Egypt

In France, we work with migrants and refugees, who encounter policies and practices aimed at preventing them from settling or claiming their rights.

Why are we there? Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence/heathcare exclusion

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease

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.

Honduras has experienced years of political, economic and social instability, and has one of the highest rates of violence in the world. This has great medical, psychological and social consequences for people.

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

Find out about MSF's work in Iran

Why we are there? Healthcare exclusion Natural disaster

Why are we there? Natural disasters

Jordan hosts over 700,000 refugees, according to the UNHCR, many of whom reside in camps or have settled in the country.

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Healthcare exclusion

Although health services are being progressively restored in Liberia, important gaps persist, notably in specialised paediatric care and mental health.

Libya remains fragmented by a decade of conflict and political instability. The breakdown of law and order, the collapse of the economy, and fighting have decimated the healthcare system.

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Natural disaster

Access to medical care remains very limited in the north and centre of Mali due to a lack of medical staff and supplies and spiralling violence between armed groups.

Why are we there? Access to healthcare

In Mozambique we are responding to emergencies including disease outbreaks, providing care to people with advanced HIV, while also working in the conflict-ridden Cabo-Delgado province.

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.

Why are we there? Armed conflict Healthcare exclusion

At the end of 2007, MSF ended its activities in Rwanda after 16 years in the country. MSF's work included assistance to displaced persons, war surgery, programmes for unaccompanied children and street children, support to victims traumatised by the conflict, programmes to improve access to healthcare, responding to epidemics such as malaria, cholera and tuberculosis, and projects linked to maternal and reproductive health.

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion

Why were we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Refugee assistance

Why are we there? Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Armed conflict Endemic/Epidemic disease Healthcare exclusion

Why were we there? Healthcare exclusion

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease

Why are we there? Endemic/epidemic disease Social violence Healthcare exclusion