Stories From Patients & Staff

It’s been six years since 700,000 Rohingya people fled their homes in Myanmar to escape violent persecution and sought refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh. 

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been supporting and running medical projects in 

Senior Health Promotion Manager, Fatumazahra Khalif (Fatma), describes the challenges facing people in the areas of Somalia where she works, and says health promotion is vital. In this profile she describes the impact of health promotion, including a moving patient story.

Neal Russell is a paediatric doctor and advisor based in London and has been working with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for 10 years. Following a recent visit to MSF’s project in Chad’s eastern region of Sila, near the border with Sudan, Neal provides his account of the situation he witnessed there. 

Queenstown’s nurse, Maia Blenkinsop witnessed extraordinary bravery while working in Ukraine.

From a shelter in northern Mexico, seven children share their hopes and dreams for the future in the short, animated documentary.

Little Birds is an eight-minute journey that examines the wounds of uprooting, the multiple risks faced by children along the migration route, and the dreams that propel them and lift their spirits despite the indefinite wait in the shelter.

"The path from El Geneina to Chad is riddled with dangers as armed groups often patrol and can stop you on your route. The consequences of the escalating conflict are devastating..." says Moussa Ibrahim, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)'s logistics supervisor in El Geneina.

Jessie Watson, a finance and HR manager from New Zealand, has worked on four assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in South Sudan, Bangladesh, Yemen, and Ukraine. When not on assignment she lives in Dipton, Southland, working remotely. She spoke to us about her time on assignment with MSF. 

What does it take to be selected for an international assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières? 

Since 9 May 2023, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical and surgical team has been working in collaboration with community volunteers in Bashair Teaching Hospital in South Khartoum.

Two MSF team members share their testimony.