News from our projects

Papua New Guinea managed to avoid the worst of the global pandemic in 2020. Now, the country is enduring a severe COVID-19 outbreak that is threatening to overwhelm the health system. 

Stigma and misinformation hamper efforts to fight off the coronavirus. Médecins Sans Frontières is providing psychological support to COVID-19 patients in PNG as the country continues to struggle with the outbreak. 

In the aftermath of communal violence in Rakhine state, Myanmar that erupted in 2012, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been forced to live in squalid, overcrowded camps in Rakhine state for the past 10 years. Movement restrictions mean they are denied access to healthcare services, livelihoods opportunities and education.

Sami Al-Subaihi is MSF’s Emergency Project Coordinator in Twic County in Warrap State, South Sudan. He shares his urgent concerns for more than 20,000 people who fled violent clashes in and around Agok in Abyei Special Administrative Area, more than four months ago, and who are now living in six makeshift displacement camps. He says the lack of food and proper shelter, dismal water and sanitation conditions, and impending rainy season, all spell disaster for the coming months.

Since 2016, MSF has been providing free access to healthcare services to those who fled Hawija during the control of the Islamic State group, including those who have since returned and those who chose not to leave. 

Many healthcare facilities were either partially or entirely destroyed during the battles to retake Hawija from the control of the IS group, leaving the returning population with reduced access to much-needed healthcare services. 

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has one of the highest prevalence rates of tuberculosis in the world, with 30,000 new cases reported every year. The high prevalence is such that the PNG government has declared a state of emergency in several provinces. 

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working with patients in PNG to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of one of the country’s leading causes of death.

Far from international media attention, armed violence continues to rage in many parts of the Central African Republic (CAR), forcing entire communities from their homes and onto a path of death and despair. 

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides mental healthcare to children and adolescents on the move at various points along the migration route in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.

Many report experiencing or witnessing violence, discrimination, and trauma. Poor physical and mental health is particularly worrying among children and adolescents as it can impact their development and their general wellbeing.

Following devastating flash floods on 11 April, the scale of damage to water, sanitation and sewage treatment systems in KwaZulu-Natal’s eThekwini Municipality is now clear.

To mitigate outbreaks of water-borne diseases, MSF mobile medical teams are consulting daily in the many halls, churches, tents and schools that serve as temporary shelters. These teams are supported by four MSF health promoters who walk the surrounding communities sharing information about water quality issues and risks, and connecting individuals left traumatised by the floods to MSF counsellors.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country, has been severely affected by the Russian offensive. While many fled the conflict, those who stayed have taken refuge in underground stations to escape the incessant bombing.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are offering primary healthcare consultations in several stations. 

For over five decades, ever since Israel occupied the Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian people have experienced continued and repeated traumas.