The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has now reported more than 6,000 coronavirus cases. Already struggling to contain two other outbreaks—a severe measles outbreak and the second largest known outbreak of Ebola—the addition of COVID-19 is creating significant strain for the country’s healthcare system. 

Brazil’s COVID-19 pandemic has spread to its most vulnerable communities—residents of slums, the homeless, and indigenous and minority groups—causing the death toll to skyrocket in a country where leadership still debates the very existence of the virus.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) promotes a working environment free of harassment and abuse. Our leadership has unequivocally committed to reinforce mechanisms and procedures to prevent and address abuse and harassment. All staff are expected to abide by the MSF movement’s Behavioural Commitments and our guiding principles as stipulated in our Charter.

The recent protests against police brutality towards black people in the United States have reverberated around the world and shone a light on the deadly impact of racism globally, including in Australia and New Zealand.

Earlier this week MSF has decided to end activities and withdraw from Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, following the brutal May 12 attack in which 16 women were systematically shot dead in the maternity ward. Among those killed were 15 mothers and an MSF midwife, Maryam Noorzad. The attackers also killed two young children and six other people present at the time of the attack.

How are refugees and other displaced people being impacted by, and enduring, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and how is Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) responding in these communities?

It has been one month since the attack on the maternity wing in Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital. Here, Melbourne-based Dr Katherine Franklin reflects on how the tragic event conflicts with memories of her time working in the project in 2016. 

As we adjust to differences in our lives that have been brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, many of us may be feeling anxious or losing sleep. The uncertainties that this pandemic has brought can be stressful, and it’s important to look after our mental health to make sure we are equipped to deal with the changes to our lives.

Raimund, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) psychologist, offers some simple tips for how to improve your mental health and cope with increased stress during the pandemic.

So what exactly is PPE, and what do we all need to know about how it should be used, and the impact of shortages? 

Around the world, governments fund critically important medical research and development using public money — including to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Publicly funded research has led to dramatic healthcare innovations, but unfortunately, most countries rarely demand that the resulting health innovations be safeguarded for public health, or be made affordable and accessible to those who need them most.