2023, the year in pictures
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This collection of 58 images, taken between November 2022 and November 2023, highlights stories and voices from around the world where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working.
Over the last 12 months, multiple acute humanitarian crises have emerged. Climate change continues to take a devastating toll on people's health and war has reached disastrous heights in several places. A brutal, deadly war has unfolded in Gaza, where attacks on health facilities put the lives of many of our staff and patients at risk. We mourn the loss of four Palestinian colleagues.
This image collection provides a glimpse into the medical and humanitarian activities carried out by MSF teams in over 75 countries during the past 12 months. From providing basic healthcare in Venezuela, to rescuing people from the Mediterranean Sea and raising awareness on TB among neighbourhoods in the Philippines, MSF has continued to assist people and communities in need.
From the tireless work of our staff to the resilience of patients fighting for their lives in difficult circumstances, these stories bear witness to the vital importance of worldwide access to healthcare. It is an essential need that should never be taken for granted, as emphasised in each and every one of these photographs.
2023
January
PERU - Treatment for people injured during demonstrations in Lima.
A 70-year-old patient is treated by MSF staff in Lima after being hit in the left temple by bullets fired by the police.
February
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Aerial view of the Bulengo site for displaced people, on the outskirts of the town of Goma, in North Kivu.
MSF provides free medical assistance and drinking water to more than 7,000 households who have taken refuge there since 2023 following armed clashes in and around the Mweso health zone. The organisation is also building 200 latrines, 120 of which are already operational.
March
TÜRKIYE -Support for the mental health of people affected by earthquakes.
Semra Karaca, Sultan Kodaş, Hüseyin Kodaş and Şengül Kodaş (from left to right) live with their families in the village of Ören, on the outskirts of Malatya, Turkey. They have been badly affected by the recent earthquakes, as well as the heavy flooding in the region.
April
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC- Bienvenu, a disabled basketball player.
After an accident in 2016 in the Central African Republic, Bienvenu (a young man in a pink jersey) had his right leg amputated. He received medical care and physiotherapy from MSF, which performed the operation. On average, our teams at the SICA hospital in Bangui operate on and monitor around 320 people a month who have been injured in road accidents or situations of violence.
Mai
SUDAN - Emergency surgical team at Bashair hospital, Khartoum.
More and more patients are arriving at Bashair hospital, the only accessible hospital in the south of Khartoum. With the presence of the MSF team, Bashair is able to deal with most of the critical cases and the hospital's other departments have also started to function.
June
UKRAINE- An increasing number of patients need emergency medical care.
Dr Khassan El-Kafarna, head of MSF's emergency department at Kostiantynivka hospital in Ukraine. MSF teams have transformed the old pharmacy on the ground floor into an operating theatre to support the provision of care in Kostiantynivka.
Juillet
MEDITERRANEAN SEA - Rotation 33 - Rescue 2 from the Geo Barents.
On 3 July 2023, the MSF team on board the Geo Barents carried out 4 different rescues in the Maltese SAR zone. A total of 196 survivors were rescued, including 47 unaccompanied minors, 16 women and 1 baby.
August
DARIEN GAP - Migrants in transit through Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
Between January and November 2023, almost half a million migrants crossed the Darién gap between Colombia and Panama.
Septembre
LIBYA- Flooding caused by storm Daniel.
Aerial view of the devastation following the floods caused by storm Daniel, which ravaged the region, in Derna, Libya, on 17 September 2023.
October
AFGHANISTAN - Earthquakes.
Abdul Salaam digs through the rubble of what used to be his house with a shovel. His mother, sitting to one side, watches quietly.
November
PALESTINE- Hospitals in Gaza are under attack and overwhelmed by massive numbers of patients.
Dr Obeid, an MSF surgeon in Gaza, tells the story of a young boy who had to undergo an amputation without appropriate anaesthetics, which are no longer available. Essential medicines and humanitarian aid must be allowed into the Gaza Strip immediately in order to save lives.
Décembre
GUINEA - Portraits - Living with HIV/AIDS in Conakry.
Hassimiou Camara, MSF peer educator and person living with HIV, joined MSF in 2014. "A second chance at life".
