Stories From Patients & Staff

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been providing surgical care for more than 40 years. Our highly skilled surgeons, anaesthetists, and obstetrician-gynaecologists contribute to treating patients affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters and lack of access to healthcare.

“I’m in the twilight of my career, and after having worked long hours in senior positions in different organisations, I decided to take a break. And that’s when I came across MSF and I thought of making my contribution in a different setting", Gail Page.

Sophie Phelan, an epidemiologist from Brisbane embarked on her second assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She was tasked with setting up a surveillance system for MPOX and cholera outbreaks, but she also had another goal—mastering French. 

In January 2025, MSF deployed an emergency response in Mayom, a remote area in South Sudan, to respond to the heavy escalation in cholera cases. The response involved vaccinating over 20,000 people, which had a great impact on the cholera outbreak. But the project revealed major gaps in access to healthcare in this region.

Have you ever worked in an area where access to phones and the internet was extremely limited? Have you diagnosed a patient without the diagnostic tests you might be used to? Situations like these are common in the areas MSF works, which is why we are looking for candidates with significant experience working in remote, low-resource settings. 

In South Sudan, the AI snake app aims to improve our understanding of different snake species, helping doctors identify an effective clinical response. The initial results are promising: the AI sometimes identifies snakes even better than experts.

Despite the challenges facing female healthcare workers in Afghanistan, in Lashkar Gah, MSF’s all-women maternity team are helping thousands of women to give birth safely every year. Obstetrician-gynaecologist Pauline Lynch recently returned from Afghanistan, and shares the story of one of them.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) constructed a faecal sludge treatment site in Aboutengue camp, Chad, which hosts approximately 45,000 Sudanese refugees, to process waste from 932 latrines built by MSF, supporting improved sanitation and helping to meet the standard of 50 people per latrine in emergency contexts. Learn more.

In South Sudan, our female colleagues are challenging gender roles in their community. They are excelling in their jobs and making an impactful contribution to MSF operations to provide quality healthcare.

Nyakuola Nguot Gang gave birth to each of her six children in MSF’s long-standing maternity department in the far north of South Sudan, where she lives with extended family. Her youngest, daughter Nyamuch, was born on 1 January 2025—but only after her 40-year-old mother escaped possible death.