Approximately two million women worldwide suffer from an obstetric fistula, one of the most serious consequences of obstructed labour. A fistula is a hole between the vagina and the bladder or rectum, through which urine or faeces leak continuously. The injury is completely preventable and has almost disappeared in developed countries where there is universal access to obstetric care.
In addition to offering maternal health services to prevent delivery complications in numerous countries, in2010, MSF teams have operated and treated about 1,000 women suffering from obstetric fistula. Below impressions from a fistula camp in Boguila, Central African Republic.
Approximately two million women worldwide suffer from an obstetric fistula, one of the most serious consequences of obstructed labour. A fistula is a hole between the vagina and the bladder or rectum, through which urine or faeces leak continuously. The injury is completely preventable and has almost disappeared in developed countries where there is universal access to obstetric care.
Central African Republic. All photos by: Sarah Elliott/MSF
Flooding near Goronyo town in Sokoto state, northern Nigeria, worsened significantly on 8th September when a dam on the Rima river failed. Villages below the dam have been flooded and tens of thousands of people have been displaced. Roads are submerged, making it difficult to assess the full impact of the floods. MSF is rapidly scaling up its response, and intends to provide water points and shelter materials to these displaced individuals. These photos, taken by logistician Chris Houston on mission in Nigeria, show the extent of the flooding.
It has been six months since devastating floods swept through Pakistan in late July 2010, inundating large swathes of the country and causing destruction on a massive scale. Triggered by torrential rains, the floods washed away crops, submerged and destroyed villages, and caused an estimated 1,700...
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...
In Kenya, more than 22,000 children were infected with HIV in 2009. The district of Homa Bay, in rural western Kenya, has the country’s highest HIV prevalence rate. MSF is working to stop the spread of the disease in Homa Bay with its prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program.
More than 1,150 MSF staff are responding to the massive cholera outbreak right now, a daunting task given the quickly rising numbers of cases throughout the country.
Closed-door negotiations between India and the European Union (EU) for a free trade agreement (FTA) are entering a crucial phase on 28 April.
At stake is access to affordable medicines for millions in India and others beyond India’s borders. The country is the source of 80...
Patient and other voices from MSF’s Mathare AIDS clinic in Kenya about how they rely on affordable generic antiretrovirals produced in India for their survival. To learn more about the impact the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, visit msfaccess.org/main/access-patents/free-trade-agreements/ Join our...
In order to tend to the longer-term needs of Haitians wounded and displaced by the January 12 earthquake, MSF has set up centers for specialized services such as physical therapy, psychological care, and plastic surgery, and has also been distributing items such as tents, soap, and blankets.
Video update on MSF activities rebuilding lives in Haiti; a dire situation for refugees near Dadaab in Kenya; closing projects in Sri Lanka; the Koutiala paediatric project in Mali and the problems facing people with TB worldwide.
An interview with MSF medical advisor, Dr. Cathy Hewison about new meningitis vaccine following the breakthrough development of a revolutionary new conjugate vaccine against meningitis A. MSF is preparing to order three million doses of the new vaccine for introduction in...
How the international food aid system is failing children; and how MSF’s multimedia campaign, Starved for Attention, aims to spur public awareness and push international food aid donors to make their food nutritionally adequate for young children
MSF is responding to the severe flooding that has directly affected an estimated 16 million people in Pakistan. The situation is still unpredictable, as waters recede in some places but spread in others while continuing rainfall brings additional problems to places that...
Pakistak update: 09 August 2010
As new areas of Pakistan get affected by floods daily, the zones that had received the first blow suffer a fresh water level rise. Continuous and sometimes heavy rains that fell on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces have...
Pakistak update: 09 August 2010
As new areas of Pakistan get affected by floods daily, the zones that had received the first blow suffer a fresh water level rise. Continuous and sometimes heavy rains that fell on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces have...
More than a year after the end of the war in Sri Lanka, people who suffered spinal injuries as a result of the conflict are struggling to start life again. We meet some of the patients at MSF’s rehabilitation unit in Pampaimadhu Hospital near Vavuniya
MSF report documents the impact of detention on the mental health and well being of migrants and asylum seekers in Greece
MSF urges the Greek government to ensure humane and dignified living conditions in detention centers and to consider alternatives, especially for...
MSF is trying to use the worldwide attention on South Africa during the World Cup to raise awareness about the funding crisis threatening the future of HIV/AIDS treatment.
