A Year in Pictures 2023

Latest News12 December 2023

This collection of 58 pictures, taken between November 2022 and November 2023, highlights stories and voices from around the world where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is working.

Over the last 12 months, multiple acute humanitarian crises have emerged. Climate change continues to take a devastating toll on people's health, and war has reached disastrous heights in several places. A brutal, deadly war has unfolded in Gaza, where attacks on health facilities put the lives of many of our staff and patients at risk. We mourn the loss of four Palestinian colleagues.

This image collection of 'A Year in Pictures 2023' provides a glimpse into the medical and humanitarian activities carried out by MSF teams in over 75 countries during the past 12 months. From providing basic healthcare in Venezuela, to rescuing people from the Mediterranean Sea and raising awareness of TB among neighbourhoods in the Philippines, MSF has continued to assist people and communities in need.

From the tireless work of our staff to the resilience of patients fighting for their lives in difficult circumstances, these stories bear witness to the vital importance of worldwide access to healthcare. It is an essential need that should never be taken for granted, as emphasised in each and every one of these photographs.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, a year in pictures, Central African Republic — After an accident in 2016 in the Central African Republic, Bienvenu (young male with pink jersey) had his right leg amputated. He received medical care and physiotherapy treatment from MSF, who performed the surgery. On average, our teams at the SICA hospital in Bangui perform operations and provide follow-up care to approximately 320 people each month who have been injured in road accidents or violent situations.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures, Syria, Turkiye earthquake — These aerial and ground photos show MSF’s distribution of relief items to a reception center hosting displaced families as a result of the earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on February 6, 2023. The shelter is located near the village of Tal Ammar in the countryside of the city of Salqin on the Turkish border in northwestern Syria.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo — Unloading of the MSF cargo in Rhoe camp, where around 70'000 people live in dire conditions. Dujgu territory, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. January 19, 2023.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, Gaza, Palestine, Conflict , A year in Pictures 2023 — At around 2am, on 27 October, our medical team arrived at Jenin hospital to treat wounded people following an Israeli forces incursion on Jenin refugee camp. Two Palestinians were reportedly killed, and many more were injured. Palestine, 27 October 2023.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in pictures 2023, MSF academy in South Sudan

Participants of the MSF Academy for Healthcare Nursing & Midwifery initiative during their graduation in Lankien

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in pictures 2023, Afghanistan Earthquake

Abdul Salaam digging through the rubble of what used to be his home with a shovel. His mother seated on the side watches quietly.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures, Franco-British border

Every day, at the French-British border, migrants are confronted with the security response and repressive policies implemented by France and the United Kingdom (walls, barbed wire, barriers, surveillance cameras, daily expulsions, police harassment). The only aim is to dissuade them from staying in Calais and going to the UK. This policy of regular evictions and militarization of the border, which aims to discourage and exhaust people, generates great physical and psychological suffering, particularly among the most vulnerable groups

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures: Women's living conditions at Kanyaruchinya displacement site

Asifiwe Seburo is 7-months pregnant of her 3rd child. “It is really difficult to be pregnant in the camp” explains the 22 year-old woman, “We are four people sleeping in this tiny hut, latrines are often full, I do not eat enough… it is a daily struggle”.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures 2023, dengue fever, Arbovirus Project

MSF has been responding to dengue outbreaks in Honduras since 1998. These are growing increasingly severe, with emergency thresholds reaching alarming levels and more than 10,000 dengue cases reported each year.  With the aim of finding better and more sustainable solutions to the growing global health challenge that dengue represents, MSF is undertaking new activities to prevent dengue transmission and other arboviruses.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures: responding to war in Ukraine

Dr. Khassan El-Kafarna, a doctor with MSF, works in both the emergency department and the surgical unit of Kostiantynivka hospital in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.He is standing in the operating room of the hospital. MSF teams transformed the former ground floor pharmacy into an operating room, to support the healthcare provision in Kostiantynivka.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in pictures, Libya floods destruction

An aerial view of devastation after the floods caused by the Storm Daniel ravaged the region, in Derna, Libya on September 17, 2023.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures, Urban violence project

The midwife installs the lights in the maternity room.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures 2023, Search & Rescue, rotation 33

On 3 July 2023, MSF team onboard of Geo Barents conducted 4 different rescues in the Maltese SAR zone. In total, 196 survivors were rescued, including 47 unaccompanied minors, 16 women, and 1 baby.In the first rescue, our team was guided by aerial support from Pilotes Volontaires during the active search for this boat, which lasted more than 1.5 hours. While the last 3 rescues were all coordinated through the Italian MRCC.The Italian authorities have assigned us Marina di Carrara as a place of #safety to disembark the survivors.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in pictures, Bangladesh

Abdulshakour, 43, a father to seven children, once had a life centered around his family and work. Everything changed after the events of 25th August 2017. In this picture, he sits while his son stands beside him, carrying the bags that hold the few belongings they managed to bring from home.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in Pictures 2023, Ukraine

Mobile clinic in Kherson regionA volunteer at a public space in the village of Blahodatne, Kherson region.People used to come here to warm up and charge their phones. Now the electricity is back

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, Mental Health support for people affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye

Mental Health support for people affected by the earthquakes in TürkiyeSemra Karaca, Sultan Kodaş, Hüseyin Kodaş and Şengül Kodaş (from left to right) live together as a family in Ören village, on the outskirsts of Malatya, Türkiye. They have been greatly affected by the recent earthquakes, as well as heavy flooding in the region."There are earthquakes on the one hand and rain on the other. We don’t know what will happen in the future. I’m here with my wife, my siblings, my children, and my mother.

Gaza War Latest. Hamas. Palestine latest news. Israel latest news. Al Shifa Hospital Gaza. Israeli Forces

A young boy injured by an airstrike in Gaza hugs his father after receiving treatment at Al Shifa hospital.

MSF, Doctors Without Borders, A year in pictures 2023, Gaza, Palestine, Israeli conflict

The watermelon roundabout, a symbol of Palestinian pride in Jenin, was destroyed during a military incursion in the city. Violent Israeli incursions in Jenin have become commonplace since 7 October. At least 30 people been killed and 162 injured by Israeli forces in the past month. Jenin, West Bank, 6 November, 2023.

A Year in Pictures 2023

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Participants of the MSF Academy for Healthcare Nursing & Midwifery initiative during their graduation in Lankien

Abdul Salaam digging through the rubble of what used to be his home with a shovel. His mother seated on the side watches quietly.

Asifiwe Seburo is 7-months pregnant of her 3rd child. “It is really difficult to be pregnant in the camp” explains the 22 year-old woman, “We are four people sleeping in this tiny hut, latrines are often full, I do not eat enough… it is a daily struggle”.

An aerial view of devastation after the floods caused by the Storm Daniel ravaged the region, in Derna, Libya on September 17, 2023.

The midwife installs the lights in the maternity room.

Abdulshakour, 43, a father to seven children, once had a life centered around his family and work. Everything changed after the events of 25th August 2017. In this picture, he sits while his son stands beside him, carrying the bags that hold the few belongings they managed to bring from home.

Mobile clinic in Kherson regionA volunteer at a public space in the village of Blahodatne, Kherson region.People used to come here to warm up and charge their phones. Now the electricity is back

A young boy injured by an airstrike in Gaza hugs his father after receiving treatment at Al Shifa hospital.

Aerial view captures the fighting and violence that erupted in Khartoum, Sudan.

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A Year in Pictures 2023

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Participants of the MSF Academy for Healthcare Nursing & Midwifery initiative during their graduation in Lankien

Abdul Salaam digging through the rubble of what used to be his home with a shovel. His mother seated on the side watches quietly.

Asifiwe Seburo is 7-months pregnant of her 3rd child. “It is really difficult to be pregnant in the camp” explains the 22 year-old woman, “We are four people sleeping in this tiny hut, latrines are often full, I do not eat enough… it is a daily struggle”.

An aerial view of devastation after the floods caused by the Storm Daniel ravaged the region, in Derna, Libya on September 17, 2023.

The midwife installs the lights in the maternity room.

Abdulshakour, 43, a father to seven children, once had a life centered around his family and work. Everything changed after the events of 25th August 2017. In this picture, he sits while his son stands beside him, carrying the bags that hold the few belongings they managed to bring from home.

Mobile clinic in Kherson regionA volunteer at a public space in the village of Blahodatne, Kherson region.People used to come here to warm up and charge their phones. Now the electricity is back

A young boy injured by an airstrike in Gaza hugs his father after receiving treatment at Al Shifa hospital.

Aerial view captures the fighting and violence that erupted in Khartoum, Sudan.

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