Between humanitarian crises and medical emergencies: all the latest news
COVID-19: How is MSF responding?
The pandemic poses an enormous challenge that we can only meet together. The virus has spread to more than 180 countries worldwide.
Yemen
“We have a lot of people that die quickly” of COVID-19
A car drove up to the low, white building that is the MSF COVID-19 treatment centre in Aden, southwestern Yemen. In it was a man aged around 60 who was coughing and struggling for breath. He managed to heave himself into a wheelchair and then the team took him down to the intensive care unit to start giving him oxygen. Four hours later, he was dead.
Brazil: MSF responds to the COVID-19 pandemic in Amazonas
Local hospitals in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, have managed to increase their numbers of intensive care unit (ICU) beds, but unfortunately, mortality rates linked to the disease remain high.
Chad
Nearly two years on measles epidemic in Chad is not under control
As concerns grow about the spread of COVID-19 in Chad, parts of the country remain gripped by a two-year measles epidemic that is increasing in intensity and shows no signs of slowing down, leaving the country at risk of a twin crisis.
Yemen
In Aden’s only COVID-19 treatment centre we are seeing a catastrophe unfold
The number of deaths occurring in the COVID-19 treatment centre that MSF runs in Aden, Yemen, speaks to a wider catastrophe unfolding in the city, the international medical organisation said today, and the UN and donor states need to do more urgently to help the response.
South Sudan
Renewed violence in Pieri kills and wounds dozens, including MSF staff
It is with great sadness that MSF confirms that a South Sudanese member of staff was killed, and two more were injured, during intense fighting that erupted over the weekend in and around Pieri, a town in Jonglei State in northeastern South Sudan where MSF runs a primary healthcare centre.
Kenya
COVID-19 and lack of protective equipment threaten lifesaving care
For the over half a million people living in Mathare, one of Kenya’s largest slums, the arrival of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country may present an even bigger risk than being infected with the virus.
Afghanistan
“They came to kill the mothers” in Kabul maternity hospital attack
In the days following the attack on the MSF-supported Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, it has become clear that what happened in Kabul on 12 May was a deliberate assault on a maternity hospital with the purpose of killing mothers in cold blood.
Ukraine
Responding to COVID-19 in conflict-affected eastern Ukraine
The only European country facing an armed conflict, Ukraine’s healthcare system was already under great strain, especially in the east where sporadic hostilities have left many struggling to access healthcare. The spread of COVID-19 threatens to further overwhelm the country’s healthcare capacity.
Afghanistan
Revolting attack on pregnant women and babies
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without borders (MSF) is devastated after yesterday’s sickening attack on pregnant women, mothers and their babies at our maternity in Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul.