News in brief

Supporting victim-survivors

Papua New Guinea

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) persists at alarming levels across PNG, particularly in the Highlands. With the few medical facilities scattered across rugged terrain, it is difficult for rural communities in Jiwaka province to access care, leaving many without the treatment they need.

MSF, in collaboration with PNG health authorities, began setting up a project in Jiwaka last year, aiming to improve access to care for victims and survivors of violence.

The team will engage communities to understand values and attitudes towards sexual health and family planning and offer education through health talks and training for caregivers and volunteers on sexually transmitted illnesses, gender-based violence care and survivor care.

“Information is power to change people’s mindsets,” said Janet Kilea, MSF community engagement supervisor. “Together we have to reach out to the women who are silent out there. We can be a voice for change.”

Janet Kilea, MSF community engagement supervisor, with Judith, a community health worker, and Cathy, a village health volunteer, in Mondumil village aid post in Jiwaka province, PNG. © Sophie McNamara/MSF

War fuels a cholera outbreak

Sudan

During a war that has made 8 million people internally displaced and forced a further 3 million people to seek safety in neighbouring countries, Sudan is experiencing the worst cholera outbreak it has had in years. First declared by the Ministry of Health (MoH) a year ago, there have since been 99,700 suspected cases and more than 2,470 related deaths, as of 11 August.

As people continue to flee violence, the outbreak is spreading further in Sudan and into neighbouring Chad and South Sudan.

In collaboration with the MoH, MSF teams have treated more than 2,300 cholera patients in Tawila in North Darfur state, where the situation is the most extreme. In Central Darfur, MSF opened a 73-bed cholera treatment centre in Golo hospital, and in South Darfur, in coordination with the MoH, MSF has expanded the cholera treatment centre in Nyala to 80 beds. MSF is urging others to join an international response that will provide healthcare, improve water and sanitation, and launch mass vaccination campaigns across the Darfur region.

Cholera patients inside the MSF-supported cholera treatment centre in Al-Nahda Hospital in Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan. © Rehab Adam Adam Abaker/MSF

Thousands escape violence to DRC

South Sudan

South Sudan is currently experiencing its highest rates of violence since the country’s civil war ended in 2018. An estimated 300,000 people were displaced in the first half of 2025, and more than 33,000 refugees have now fled to northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to escape the surging violence. Many arrive with few or no possessions.

MSF has deployed two mobile clinics and set up six community care centres. The weekly average has reached 370 consultations and continues to rise. More than half the people seeking care have malaria, and MSF is also providing care to survivors of sexual violence, including to girls as young as 12.

Measles has been reported within the refugee community, and MSF is responding with a mass vaccination campaign targeting 62,000 children.

MSF has also undertaken critical infrastructure projects, installing six water distribution points and 200 latrines and showers.

South Sudanese register with DRC’s National Committee of Refugees. Once registration is complete, they become eligible to receive non-food item (NFI) kits from MSF. The kits contain mosquito nets, buckets, soap and other essential items. © Sam Bradpiece/MSF

The deliberate denial of water

Palestine

Two years on from the escalation of war, the availability of water in Gaza has become a critical issue. Israel’s deliberate restriction of water to the people of Gaza is part of its genocidal campaign, another denial of life’s necessities, alongside food, fuel and healthcare.

A lack of adequate clean water in Gaza has resulted in an increase of disease, with MSF medical teams conducting more than 1,000 consultations for acute watery diarrhoea per week throughout July and August. Without sufficient water for hygiene, people have been suffering from skin conditions such as scabies.

MSF is seeking to increase its water treatment capacity by adding another nine treatment units to its existing seven. However, since June 2024, for every 10 requests to bring in water treatment supplies, MSF has had only one approved. In August, an MSF water truck came under fire at a water distribution point in Khan Younis, despite being clearly marked with an MSF logo and identifiable as a humanitarian vehicle.