Testimonies
South Sudan
How cycles of violence impede access to basic medical care in Jonglei State, Sou
In August 2020, a new wave of violence shook northeastern South Sudan, causing an influx of seriously injured people to Pieri Hospital in Jonglei State. Jean-Nicolas Dangelser, MSF emergency coordinator, looks back on these events, which illustrate the problems of inter-community violence and access to healthcare in the region.
Mediterranean Sea
On 1 September, the Sea-Watch 4 was assigned a port of safety
MSF, together with Sea-Watch, has been back at sea in the central Mediterranean since 15 August, on board the ship the Sea-Watch 4. Finally, on 1 September, 11 days after the first rescue the Sea-Watch 4, was allocated a place of safety, in the closest country.
Syria
“In Al-Hol camp, almost no healthcare is available”
A humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in northeast Syria, as an already devastated area in which 700,000 people are internally displaced, copes with the spread of COVID-19, water shortages, social unrest and a collapsed healthcare system.
Cameroon
Remaining vigilant regarding epidemic risks present in the country
The efforts developed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks risk overshadowing some of the health needs of the population.
Brazil
Covid-19: “We are concerned about the South”
Dr Jo Robays, coordinator of LuxOR, has just returned from a one-month mission with Médecins Sans Frontières to Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus epidemic. It has already killed more than 75 000 people there.
Niger
“Simplifying isn’t as simple as it sounds!”
We talk to nutrition advisor Béatrice Mounier about simplifying the protocol for diagnosing and managing acute malnutrition in Niger.
Malawi
Tackling a silent woman-killer in Malawi
Cervical cancer kills over 2,300 women in Malawi every year, or two thirds of those who become infected with it, despite it being an easily preventable disease.
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".