Stories & News

Following the powerful earthquakes that hit the south of Türkiye (formally Turkey) and northwest Syria on 6 February, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has mobilised its team along with local partners to respond to the increasing needs in the area.

More than a week after Haiti's latest earthquake destroyed his home and fractured the bones of his leg, Widnika—just two years and seven months old—sleeps in a bed at MSF's Tabarre hospital in Port-au-Prince, with his mother Widline beside him. 

In Northwest Syria, a largely landlocked region, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams present on the ground have deployed an emergency plan in response to the earthquakes that hit on 6 February. The objective: to support hospitals and provide medical and material aid to populations, by mobilizing a large part of the 500 members of its staff active in the country.

After the initial earthquakes that struck south Türkiye and northwest Syria, the region has registered hundreds of aftershocks, adding to the death toll, material damage and trauma of the survivors.

One month on, the search and rescue phase is over. While the dust has settled among the rubble, the needs remain acute.

As Syria marks 12 years of conflict, the impact of the earthquakes that struck parts of Syria and Türkiye on 6 February is pushing communities in northwest Syria to the brink and the healthcare system to its limits. 

According to the latest estimates, the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria have killed more than 28,000 people and injured tens of thousands more. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works with affected populations in northwestern Syria with nearly 500 staff members.

A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) convoy of 14 trucks entered northwest Syria today, arriving from Türkiye through the Hammam border crossing point. 

On Saturday 14 August 14, at 8:30 am local time, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the southern peninsula of Haiti, causing extensive damage to buildings, houses, and main access roads in the three provinces of Grand'Anse, Nippes and Sud.

The provisional death toll is estimated at more than 1,300 with more than 5,700 people injured, according to Haitian authorities. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are conducting exploratory missions and are providing critical aid to those most affected.

In the days since Haiti's 7.2 magnitude earthquake on 14 August, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have been conducting exploratory missions and providing critical aid to those most affected.

Xavier Kernizan is an orthopedic surgeon based in MSF's Tabarre hospital in Port-au-Prince, who has been working with an MSF surgical team in Jérémie providing emergency care to those injured by the earthquake. Here he discusses the situation on the ground.