MSF ordered to leave Libya within one month

MSF announced that it had recently received a letter from the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordering it to leave the country by November 9. 

On March 27, 2025, MSF was instructed to suspend its activities in Libya following the closure of its premises by the Libyan Internal Security Agency (ISA) and the interrogation of several of its employees. This wave of repression also affected nine other humanitarian organizations operating in the west of the country. 

Since then, MSF has consistently expressed its desire to be able to provide medical aid in Libya once again and has continued to engage with the authorities. 

"We deeply regret this decision by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we are concerned about the consequences for the health of the people we assist. We believe that MSF still has an important role to play in Libya, particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, in supporting the Libyan health system, but also in providing access to healthcare for refugees and migrants who are excluded from care and subject to arbitrary detention and serious violence in the country," explains Steve Purbrick, head of programs for MSF in Libya.

In a context of increasing obstruction of NGO intervention, drastic cuts in international aid funding, and the reinforcement of European border policies in collaboration with the Libyan authorities, there are now no international NGOs providing medical care to refugees and migrants in western Libya. 

“No reason has been given to justify our expulsion and the process remains unclear. MSF's registration with the relevant authorities in the country remains valid, so we hope to be able to find a positive solution to this situation," concludes Purbrick. 

In collaboration with the Libyan health authorities, MSF had carried out over 15,000 medical consultations in 2024, 3,000 mental health consultations and 2,000 tuberculosis consultations. MSF was involved in identifying and accompanying some of these particularly vulnerable foreign patients and evacuating them from Libya via a humanitarian corridor to Italy. 76 former patients had benefited from this program since 2024, and a further 63 were due to follow by the end of the year.  In 2023, MSF also provided emergency medical aid following the floods in Derna.