2016 may well be remembered for its tumultuous political turnarounds, hardening attitudes to refugees and migration, and continuing devastating conflicts. Looking through more than 10,000 images released this year (taken between October 2015 and December 2016), however, a different reality reveals itself.

Whether you read it in the bravery and determination of MSF’s medical responses in South Sudan, Yemen or Syria; see it in the faces of those rescued at sea in the Mediterranean; or feel it in the gentlest moment between a mother and her daughter, amidst heartache and turmoil, in Nigeria; the indomitable spirit of survival and caring has prevailed in 2016.

Throughout the year, our photographers have been alongside MSF's doctors, nurses, midwives, logisticians and other staff, on the frontline of our projects around the world. They have been there to bear witness, not only to the work done by our dedicated medical teams, but also, unflinchingly, to the intimate circumstances that surround each individual's story.

In each photograph here, there is both a personal story and a wider story that led up to the event pictured. But to see these stories, you must look in their direction, not away, and for that we are grateful.

Thank you.