Stories & News

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.

In May 2021, Gaza was enveloped in a new wave of violence. As the bombs fell, doctors Mohammed Abu Mughaisib and Natalie Thurtle were coordinating medical activities in the territory. They reflect on their very different experiences…

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.

Conflict has been steadily increasing in Afghanistan throughout 2021, with the region becoming increasingly insecure since announcements in April of US and NATO forces withdrawing their troops. With these troops gone, Afghan forces and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan—also known as the Taliban—are fighting for territory in clashes that continue to claim thousands of lives while crippling public infrastructure. 

MSF staff continue to treat patients in Afghanistan, adapting to the increasingly fragile situation and performing lifesaving surgery on victims of the violence.

Having completed three assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF), Dr Maman Karsou has seen firsthand the impact of vaccination campaigns in fighting epidemics.

Following the brutal murder of three staff in the Ethiopian region of Tigray on 24 June, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is calling for an immediate investigation into the killings and insists that aid workers are allowed to do their jobs in safety.

In response to the killings, we have suspended our activities in Abi Adi, Adigrat and Axum, in central and eastern Tigray. MSF teams in other areas of Tigray will continue cautiously to provide assistance to people in urgent need.  

María Hernández, Yohannes Halefom and Tedros Gebremariam were killed on 24 June in Tigray, Ethiopia. Their colleagues from Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) remember them.

Judy Forbes, based in Christchurch, New Zealand, has worked as an anaesthetist in humanitarian settings in over 40 countries. This includes 10 assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in places like Palestine, Cameroon and Sri Lanka—and she’s not done yet.

As the second winter of the pandemic rolls in, the COVID-19 situation in Brazil is again deeply concerning, with national and international experts warning of a third devastating wave. The response remains fragmented and decentralised and the central authorities continue to disregard science—and the importance of masks and social distancing—in their health messaging.