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 provides a glimpse into the medical and humanitarian activities carried out by MSF teams in over 75 countries during the past 12 months. 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.
January
Lima, Peru
Following political protests across Peru, a 70-year-old patient is treated by MSF staff in Lima after being hit in the left temple by pellets fired by the police. © MAX CABELLO ORCASITAS
Ituri, DRC
MSF teams unload cargo in Rho displaced people’s camp, which has seen a further influx of people seeking safety following violent attacks by armed groups. The camp population has doubled to over 70,000 people, all living in dire conditions.© PHILOMÈNE FRANSSEN/MSF
February
Idlib province, Syria
An aerial view of MSF’s distribution of relief items to a reception centre hosting families displaced by the earthquake which struck Syria and Türkiye on 6 February. © OMAR HAJ KADOUR
Kherson oblast (province), Ukraine
MSF runs a mobile clinic in the area, providing medical care and mental health support to residents. © LAUREL CHOR
March
Manila, Philippines
In the Tondo neighbourhood of Manila, MSF volunteers invite staff and customers at a local bakery to get their chest x-rayed at the free tuberculosis screening held by MSF. © RIA KRISTINA TORRENTE
Abdurafi, Ethiopia
Getu Kassa (centre) and other farm workers pick cotton on a farm in the Abdurafi area. They have come from the highlands, where there is no immunity against kala azar or malaria, and they work and sleep in the fields during the night, leaving them susceptible to both diseases. © AMANUEL SILESHI/MSFApril
Khartoum, Sudan
An aerial view shows black smoke drifting across Khartoum following the fighting and violence that erupted between the army and paramilitary forces in mid-April. © ATSUHIKO OCHIAI/MSF
Central African Republic
After an accident in 2016, Bienvenue had his right leg amputated by an MSF surgical team at SICA hospital. He received medical care and physiotherapy treatment from MSF. 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. © KRISTEN POELS/MSF
May
Nigeria
Rabiu, a 20-year-old noma survivor, from Raba, Sokoto state, plays darts in the courtyard of the Sokoto Noma Hospital. Rabiu received reconstructive surgery from an MSF medical team. © FABRICE CATERINI/INEDIZ
Arsal, Lebanon
Siwar holds up her insulin pen while lying down among her toys in her family's makeshift home. Siwar was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age and frequents the MSF clinic in town for treatment. © CARMEN YAHCHOUCHI/MSF
June
Central Mediterranean Sea
Black smoke billows from a wooden boat after being intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard. The boat had around 50 people onboard, who were transferred to the Coast Guard’s vessel before the wooden boat was set on fire. © SKYE MCKEE/MSF
Adré, Chad
A doctor holds up the x-rays of a woman who was shot in the neck in Sudan, before she managed to reach Adré in Chad. There, MSF staff operated to remove the bullet in Abéché hospital. © MOHAMMAD GHANNAM/MSF
July
Central Mediterranean Sea
A team from the MSF search and rescue ship Geo Barents provides life vests to survivors on a wooden boat during a night-time rescue. © MICHELA RIZZOTTI/MSF
Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo
An MSF water and sanitation hygienist walks across the top of water tanks being used to store and treat water for the people living in Bulengo displaced people’s camp. © ALEXANDRE MARCOU/MSFAugust
Panama
People on the move from South to North America traverse a river in the Darién gap, as they make their way over the Panamanian border. © JUAN CARLOS TOMASI/MSF
September
Derna, Libya
An aerial view of devastation after the floods caused by the Storm Daniel ravaged the region. © HALIL FIDAN/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA AFP
October
Gaza Strip, Palestine
A man drinks water from a burst pipe amongst destroyed buildings in Gaza, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas three days earlier. © MOHAMMED BABA
Jenin, Palestine
MSF medical staff treat wounded people at 2am in Jenin hospital, following an Israeli forces incursion on Jenin refugee camp. © FARIS AL-JAWAD/MSF
November
Gaza Strip, Palestine
An above view of a crowded hallway at Al-Aqsa hospital, where patients and displaced people are forced to live. © MOHAMMED ABED
Jenin, Palestine
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. © FARIS AL-JAWAD/MSF
December
Genova, Italy
The survivors rescued by the MSF team from a fiberglass boat in distress, have safely disembarked in Genova, an unjustified faraway place of safety assigned by the Italian authorities. © MSF/Mohamad Cheblak
New York, USA
MSF USA staff gather in front of UN headquarters in New York to call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire. © Sara Kerens/The Associated Press
