Testimonies
Palestine
“After more than a year my leg hasn’t healed yet. The pain never leaves me”
Between March 2018 and December 2019, 8,800 people were injured with live ammunitions by the Israeli army while attending the “Great March of Return”, along the fence separating Gaza from Israel. The threat of COVID-19 is making their excruciating recovery process even harder and longer.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fighting an epidemic in a pandemic
Paediatric nurse Vera Schmitz was part of an MSF team that was vaccinating thousands of children against a deadly measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the shadow of a new threat from COVID-19.
Afghanistan
“As midwives in Afghanistan, we are the silent leaders of our country.”
Zahra Koochizad is the MSF midwife supervisor in the MSF maternity wing of Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. She was working on the maternity ward on 12 May 2020, the day of an attack by unknown assailants who killed 15 mothers and an MSF midwife. Here she explains why midwives in Afghanistan are so important, calling them the country's "silent leaders".
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.
Eswatini
Responding to COVID-19 in a country already fighting a dual HIV/TB epidemic
Dr Bernhard Kerschberger, MSF Head of Mission in Eswatini, describes the challenges his team face responding to COVID-19 in a setting with high rates of HIV and TB, and how adapting care for patients is important to reduce the risk of exposure for the most vulnerable people.
Overwhelming, lonely, stressful – life in a COVID-19 unit in Geneva
Kathrine Zimmerman is a nurse who has worked in intensive care units at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG), the university teaching hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. She was seconded to work in the HUG's intensive care unit for patients with COVID-19 during March 2020, and shares with us her daily life during this unexpected emergency.
Burkina Faso
The COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a new emergency phase
Hassan Maïyaki is MSF´s Head of Mission in Burkina Faso. He explains the country's situation in the face of COVID-19, and the impact of the pandemic on public health.
France
“Access to medical care must be maintained for the most vulnerable”
On 24 March, MSF began providing medical support to health authorities fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the city and suburbs around Paris, France. Annelise Coury is coordinating our response to COVID-19 in the region, and describes the situation.
Syria
“COVID-19 adds another layer of complexity to an already catastrophic situation”
Cristian Reynders, field coordinator for MSF operations in northwest Syria, explains what the potential spread of COVID-19 would mean in Idlib and how MSF is preparing for it.
Italy
COVID-19 pandemic brings new challenges to well-developed healthcare systems
Dr Claudia Lodesani, MSF president and emergency coordinator for COVID-19 in Italy, explains how our teams can assist her country’s well-developed health system to deal with the new challenge of a pandemic.