slideshow: No Choice: Thousands risk death crossing Gulf of Aden
Chagas: it's time to break the silence
Millions of people are infected with Chagas disease yet they do not know.
They can die in silence, without asking for help, without knowing why. An MSF specialty site focusing on Chagas
The annual MSF publication covering all our work worldwide. This report refers to activities throughout 2009.
For Médecins Sans Frontières, an organisation that has specialised in responding to emergencies as well as working in fragile and unpredictable contexts, no two years are the same. There is of course the ongoing work carried out by our thousands of staff around the world, who provide healthcare where it’s lacking and deal with diseases that continue to take a high toll on populations. But over and beyond the more constant medical activity, each year brings new challenges to our organisation.
Two worrying developments stand out for 2009: the dwindling commitment of donor bodies for continuing the battle against HIV/ AIDS and a sharp increase of security incidents that affect our ability to bring assistance. In 2009, we started looking closely at the funding for HIV/AIDS in eight African countries. A clear pattern is starting to show of donor backtracking on earlier, widely publicised commitments to scale up the fight against the epidemic.
The effects on availability and level of care for those infected are becoming clear in countries where we work. In some countries where infection rates for HIV/AIDS are high, patients are turned away from clinics, and clinicians are once again being forced into the unacceptable position of rationing life-saving treatment. MSF will emphasise the unacceptable nature of this withdrawal in appropriate private and public forums throughout 2010.
Five weeks after violent clashes erupted in the south of Kyrgyzstan and despite an apparent return to a more peaceful situation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) doctors, psychologists and nurses continue to deal with cases of violence on a daily basis. More concerning still, the capacity of victims to receive adequate health care differs according to the community they belong. “In such a tense and volatile context, we call on all responsible authorities to preserve the neutrality of medical facilities. It is essential that any patient who needs care can receive adequate treatment, regardless of their origin,” said Bruno Jochum, Director of Operations for MSF.
MSF increases its medical and humanitarian support in southern Kyrgyzstan
Following an explosion at midday in Mingora, the main city of Swat district in Khyber Pathkunkhwa province, doctors and medical staff from MSF and Pakistan’s Ministry of Health treated 58 injured people, some of whom were seriously wounded.
Six months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, this report describes the evolution of MSF’s work during what is the organisation’s largest ever rapid emergency response.
It attempts to explain the scope of the medical and material aid provided to Haiti by MSF since the catastrophe, but also to set out the considerable challenges and dilemmas faced by the organisation.
The report acknowledges that whilst the overall relief effort has kept many people alive, it is still not easing some of their greatest suffering.
The situation for many Haitians is still hugely precarious, while frustration grows among people who are disappointed with the pace of rehabilitation.
“There is a staggering gap between the enthusiasm and promises for aiding the victims of the earthquake in the early weeks, and the dire reality on the ground after half a year,” said MSF Head of Mission Stefano Zannini, who was already in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake killed or injured hundreds of thousands and left over a million people without shelter.
In the report, MSF describes some of the choices which had to be made in the first few weeks following the earthquake.
“As an emergency organisation, MSF provides medical aid to people in extreme crisis,” said Dr. Perera. “As Liberia moves steadily towards stability, our role greatly diminishes and the government’s further increases.
"However, major challenges remain to ensure that the most vulnerable, women and children, continue to receive much needed free care. There are no cheap solutions - as Liberia reconstructs the international community must step up and provide increased support.”
This is Liberia and when you sit alone, you meditate on things of the past sometimes. Yes, the war here was very bad.... Our brothers and sisters that were traumatised, burned this place down, broke things, killed, did a lot of things, caused problems for us. ...
I’ll be 34 years in 20 years time. I will be working at that time. In a very big hospital. ... Our country will be fine and beautiful."
“Patients started arriving at the emergency room 20 minutes after the first two explosions, which happened outside a bank,” said Dr. Paulo Reis, MSF’s doctor in charge. “Initially we received 20 patients, among them three children, with varying degrees of trauma from shell injury to shoulder lacerations. Two of these were admitted for surgery immediately, with a third shortly after.”
“In addition to the many hospitalised victims who may need medical attention, one of our biggest worries is for the hundreds of people who have been wounded and have no access to health care. Some of them are afraid to go to health structures or to move from where they are, others have fled far from any health structures near the border area. We are also concerned by the lack of access to drinking water - water systems were shut down for some days in Jalalabad, and the lack of food and basic items as hundreds of houses were looted, destroyed or burnt during these violent events”, says Alexandre Baillat, MSF’s Head of mission in Kyrgyzstan.
16/06/2010
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: International Publications Manager
MSF report documents the impact of detention on the mental health and well being
of migrants and asylum seekers in Greece . MSF urges the Greek government to ensure humane and dignified living conditions in detention centres and to consider alternatives, especially for vulnerable groups
Starved for Attention: A Radical New Vision Of Malnutrition
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the VII Photo agency have launched “Starved for Attention,” a global multimedia campaign presenting a unique and new perspective of childhood malnutrition, a preventable and treatable condition that nonetheless claims the lives of millions of children each year. The campaign launch coincides with the onset of a particularly harsh “hunger gap” season in Africa’s Sahel region, the period when staple food crops run out before the next harvest and malnutrition typically increases.
The collaboration challenges established notions of malnutrition through a seven-part mini-documentary series that will be released over a seven-week period beginning today at: www.starvedforattention.org
Giulio di Sturco / VII
A daily photo blog focusing on MSF field activities, with emphasis on the particularly creative, arresting and visually engaging images. See more...
MSF report documents the impact of detention on the mental health and well being
of migrants and asylum seekers in Greece . MSF urges the Greek government to ensure humane and dignified living conditions in detention centres and to consider alternatives, especially for vulnerable groups
This is Liberia and when you sit alone, you meditate on things of the past sometimes. Yes, the war here was very bad.... Our brothers and sisters that were traumatised, burned this place down, broke things, killed, did a lot of things, caused problems for us. ...
