07 November 2012
In the first hours following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which hit Guatemala’s Pacific Coast on 7 November, MSF sent an emergency team to assess the medical and humanitarian needs of the population. Following the second earthquake on 11 November, the team continues to monitor potential health needs which may not be covered by local institutions in the departments of San Marcos, Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu.
Following two consecutive earthquakes affecting the north coast of Guatemala, MSF donated medicine to health centers in the affected municipalities of San Cristóbal Cucho, El Quetzal and La Reforma, distributed more than 300 hygiene kits for families lacking basic water and sanitation and housed in temporary shelters in rural and...
01 February 2012
MSF South Africa recruit, Marilize Ackerman (33), recently returned home after working in Haiti for eight months with MSF as a Human Resources and Finance Manager. She worked on two MSF hospital projects in the island nation’s capital Port-au-Prince. Here she gives a glimpse into life in Haiti two years after the earthquake. “Most of my mission was spent at Choscal Hospital in the heart of Cite Soleil, the biggest and poorest slum in Haiti – not to mention the Northern hemisphere. Within hours of the earthquake in 2010, MSF had partnered with the Haitian Ministry of Health to support the services of Choscal hospital. By the time I arrived in 2011, MSF was providing a much bigger range of services in the hospital, 24 hours a day....
11 January 2012
Two years after the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, nearly 500,000 displaced Haitians are still living in extremely precarious conditions. MSF is still working to contain the cholera epidemic and to provide emergency medical care. Access to free care in Haiti remains indeed virtually non-existent for people who live in precarious conditions, those who are far from urban centers or those who can not afford health care in the private facilities that exist in Haiti.
In the aftermath of the earthquake of January 2010, MSF launched the largest emergency response in its history, providing care for 358,000 people, making 16,570 surgical operations and making 15,100 deliveries over a 10-months period. During the cholera...
10 January 2012
Two years after the earthquake, the health care system in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas is still in disarray. Most Haitians still lack proper access to emergency care.
December 2010. Two weeks after the opening of the cholera treatment centre in Cap Haitien Gymnasium, the sensitisation team has moved from 6 members to more than 40 community health workers. Photo: Aurelie Lachant / MSF
January 12, 2010 will forever remain engraved in Haiti's collective memory. Nearly everyone in the country lost a relative, friend or neighbour in the earthquake that hit that day, and many survivors continue to suffer physical or psychological after-effects. The piles of rubble and gaping holes in the streets...
09 November 2011
Since the earthquake struck southeast Turkey on October 23rd, MSF teams - in collaboration with local organisations - have distributed 2,000 winterised tents and 2,000 cooking kits to 12,000 people living in Van and Ercis, the cities most affected by the quake.
MSF distributes specialised tents after an earthquake struck southeast Turkey. Photo: MSF
“The population is still suffering aftershocks and they are very scared of going back to their homes. Also, it has started to snow and these people are very worried about the lack of shelter with winter coming”, explains Guillem Pérez, emergency coordinator. “Temperatures are very low at night, the current situation...
20 July 2011
Kala Azar (Leishmaniasis)Along with Chagas disease and sleeping sickness, kala azar is one of the most dangerous neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) – after malaria – it is the second largest parasitic killer in the world.Kala azar is endemic in 47 countries with approximately 200 million people at risk of infection. The parasite is spread to humans by bites from infected female sand flies. It attacks the immune system, and is almost always fatal if not treated. There are around half a million new cases a year, about 90 percent of which are in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil. Since 1988, with the help of our supporters we have treated over 100,000 people with the disease.What causes kala azar?Kala azar is...
20 June 2011
The earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 reportedly left 300,000 wounded, and 1.5 million homeless. Soon afterwards, a cholera epidemic swept the country, killing more than 5,000. Photo: Yann Libessart/MSF
Although the situation is no longer covered as extensively as it was in 2010, huge health needs remain in Haiti. Photo: Yann Libessart/MSF
The needs are for surgery, post-operative care, and obstetric care. Photo: Yann Libessart/MSF
Cholera is still a concern. In Port-au-Prince, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) treatment centers have seen an increase in cases since mid-May. Photo:...
10 January 2011
One year after a devastating earthquake killed an estimated 222,000 people and left 1.5 million people homeless, Haitians continue to endure appalling living conditions amid a nationwide cholera outbreak. By the end of 2010, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) estimates that it will have spent all of the 104 million euros ($138 million) donated by private individuals to mobilize its earthquake relief effort and respond to the cholera epidemic.