Afghanistan

Jan 03, 2023

MSF condemns the ban on women working for NGOs and their erasure from public life in Afghanistan

A nurse places a cannula on the hand of Mohammad Jan, 3 years old, who has a chest infection and heart problems. © Oriane Zerah

After months of continuous restrictions placed on the female population of Afghanistan, limitations placed on their participation in everyday life, access to education, and most recently even the right to work for non-governmental organisations, Médecins Sans Frontières （ MSF） strongly condemns the...

Sarah Leahy

Aug 10, 2022

From tech start-ups to conflict zones: My journey to becoming an MSF project coordinator

When you meet people and you say you work for MSF, they always say “Oh, are you a nurse or a doctor?” Everyone thinks it’s a bunch of doctors running a clinic somewhere far away.

Jun 27, 2022

Afghanistan: MSF starts response to earthquake in the southeast

MSF response after 21 June Earthquake in Afghanistan.

Following the earthquake that struck Khost and Paktika provinces in Afghanistan on the night of 21 to 22 June, MSF sent teams made up of medical and logistical staff to the worst-affected areas. Hundreds of people are thought to have been killed, over a thousand wounded, and many homes have been...

Apr 12, 2022

Helmand, Afghanistan: Improved Security Situation Leads to Large Numbers of Patients

In Lashkar Gah, Helmand province of Afghanistan, MSF supports the 300-bed Boost hospital. MSF is currently supporting the emergency room, surgical department, inpatient department, maternity department, neonatology unit, laboratory and radiology department, as well as the paediatric department...

Rebecca Ferguson

Feb 03, 2022

AFGHANISTAN: “IT ALL STARTS WITH A SIMPLE ABCDE”

At a newly opened emergency unit in Herat, Afghanistan, MSF nurse Rebecca is training a team to triage more than 400 patients a day…

Feb 01, 2022

New Year babies: The first MSF newborns of 2022

Baby Marwa, born at exactly midnight on New Year's Day © MSF

There is always a reason to find hope. As we begin the year, many countries are still facing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while, at the same time, conflict, disaster and obstacles to accessing care have hit people hard around the world. But, in the middle of humanitarian crises, hopeful...

Jan 07, 2022

“It’s the lucky ones who reach us” Inside Afghanistan’s child malnutrition crisis

Dr Mohammed* is at an MSF hospital in Lashkar Gah, where hundreds of mothers and children are arriving after long journeys to reach care. Four hundred. This is the number of severely malnourished children we are treating every month at Boost Hospital in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan. Every one of these...

Nov 09, 2021

Afghanistan: Malnutrition soars in Herat as healthcare is at breaking point

The Afghan healthcare system has been fragile and plagued by major gaps for years now, and the suspension of international aid as a result of the recent political developments has further deteriorated the situation. In Herat, Médecins Sans Frontières is witnessing a worrying increase in...

Sep 23, 2021

Afghanistan: Medical needs urgent as ever after Taliban takeover

On 15 August, after weeks of intense fighting, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, also known as the Taliban) entered the city of Kabul as the government collapsed. The IEA declared the war over and assumed control over the country. While many people and organisations have fled Afghanistan,...

Sep 09, 2021

Overcoming obstacles: Treating trauma in Kunduz, Afghanistan

Fighting in the city of Kunduz in north-eastern Afghanistan ended on 8 August. During the clashes, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) transformed its office space into a temporary trauma unit to treat the people wounded. That unit is now closed and on 16 August all patients were transferred to the...