In 2019, with your support, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) worked beside people in need and among disease outbreaks, attacks on humanitarian staff, patients and medical facilities and unequal access to healthcare.
For more information on all of the countries supported by Médecins Sans Frontières Australia in 2019, please download the full report below.
“More than ever, we are grateful for the steadfast generosity and trust of our supporters. We hope this report provides a snapshot of what we have been able to achieve in 2019, together on behalf of our patients.”
In 2019, our fundraising activities generated a total of $92.7 million mostly through the regular donations made by our field partners and the generosity of our major donors. These donations directly funded projects in 35 countries worldwide, with South Sudan, Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Jordan receiving the largest contributions.
Through the efforts of our Field Human Resources department, Australian and New Zealand field workers filled a total of 176 field positions. Yemen, Palestine, South Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan were the top-supported countries based on the number of staff.
Less than half the population of South Sudan has access to adequate medical services, despite a period of peace and a promise of unity after years of civil war.
In 2019, MSF ran hospitals in Aweil and Old Fangak providing maternal and newborn healthcare and paediatric care; we responded to outbreaks of malaria and measles; we supported refugees and internally displaced people in Yida and across the border in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s South Kordofan; and teams in Agok delivered secondary healthcare including emergency surgery and treatment for HIV, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases like snakebite envenomation.
In Yemen’s fifth year of conflict, violent clashes on frontlines and frequent attacks on health facilities prevented civilians from accessing critical healthcare.
MSF provided lifesaving emergency surgery for victims of the conflict, and we were able to resume activities despite facilities, patients and staff being affected by attacks. Our teams delivered maternal and child healthcare in most of the governates we support in Yemen, including treatment for children with malnutrition; we ran a hospital serving displaced people in Ibb; and staff responded to an outbreak of cholera and provided treatment and vaccinations for measles.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MSF worked to tackle the country’s largest outbreaks of measles and Ebola to date, while continuing to address its many other health needs.
Teams responded to Ebola in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, including providing medical care and vaccinations, developing community engagement and reinforcing general healthcare to address the full medical and humanitarian needs of communities; we supported surveillance activities, mass vaccination campaigns and patient care to tackle measles; and MSF supported people displaced by violence.
In Kenya, MSF provided care to refugees and victims of violence and responded to public health challenges such as advanced HIV.
In 2019, MSF ran a project in Mathare, Nairobi, providing emergency care for people affected by urban violence and care for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; we worked to improve quality care and reduce mortality for advanced HIV patients; staff assisted refugees in Dagahaley camp, Dadaab; and we supported comprehensive obstetric care in Likoni.
In Jordan, MSF offered reconstructive surgery to war-wounded patients from across the Middle East and healthcare to Syrian refugees and Jordanian host communities.
At our reconstructive surgery hospital in Amman, we offered orthopaedic, plastic and maxillofacial surgery, physiotherapy, mental health support and prosthetics using 3D printing; and we ran a neonatal care project in Irbid including assisting births and treating sick newborns.
