Madagascar

Madagascar regularly faces extreme weather events and a series of climate shocks, leaving communities in dire need of aid.

MSF teams had returned to Madagascar two years ago to respond to the consequences of the worst drought to hit the region in 30 years, the main priority being the diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition.

Madagascar is affected by tropical storms every year, which most recently in 2022 caused five storms and cyclones to wreak havoc on the island.

Our teams launched an emergency response, providing medical care, nutrition support, and water and sanitation services to people affected.

 Ifanirea, Ikongo district, Madagascar

People waiting for medical consultations in Ifanirea health center. Ifanirea, Madagascar, January 25, 2023. © MSF

MSF in Madagascar

In early 2022, Médecins Sans Frontières launched an emergency response when Madagascar was struck by two devastating cyclones that caused severe destruction, damaging houses, health facilities, roads and crops.

Madagascar map

Our activities in 2022

Madagascar stats
Highlights of our activities in 2022

The island of Madagascar regularly experiences extreme weather events. A few months prior to cyclones Batsirai and Emnati, people in the southern part of the country were suffering from the effects of a severe drought, which caused exceptionally high levels of malnutrition. Between the end of January and the beginning of March, the island was hit by five tropical storms and cyclones, with Cyclone Batsirai causing severe damage.

In the aftermath of the cyclones, our emergency teams began providing medical consultations in the remote coastal districts of Nosy Varika and Mananjary, running mobile clinics by boat to reach communities that had been cut off from healthcare. We also helped to reconstruct two hospitals and five health centres that had been badly damaged.

In Ikongo district, the cyclones destroyed around 80 per cent of the crops, exacerbating the dire food security situation in the area, as people who were already vulnerable lost their main source of income. Following an assessment in December, our teams started offering medical care and nutrition support to people with moderate and severe malnutrition.

In Androy and Anosy regions, in the southern part of the country, we ended our malnutrition care activities in June after observing improvements linked with increased assistance from other NGOs and better rainfall and harvests.

In Ambovombe district, we continued to work on improving access to clean water by drilling deep boreholes. We are also developing a community-based approach, working with local people to rehabilitate existing water pumps with locally-sourced spare parts, and training technicians to repair them independently.  

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