In 2024, there were over 120 armed conflicts raged across the world. This level of fighting has resulted in massive casualties, destroying countless families and forcing millions of people to flee their homes and suffering a lack of water and food, and struggling without medical care. What MSF medical teams have witnessed in the last 24 months in different locations can only be described as total wars on people, where healthcare is actively dismantled. 

 

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people since its outbreak in October 2023, about 30% of them were children. Infrastructure and medical facilities have been destroyed, 19 of the 36 hospitals in gaza remain operational. Humanitarian aid has been hugely hindered, Israel has imposed a 80 blockade aid supplies, including medicine on the enclave, leading to severe shortages of medical supplies, food and fuel. 

 

The war between rival factions of the Sudanese armed forces has raged for more than two years, displacing nearly 13 million people, leaving 60 % of the population in need of assistance and multiple locations in famine-like situations. 

 

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, communities have been caught up in the fighting between various armed groups and Congolese military forces in recent years, particularly in the east of the country, with more than 7 million people forced to flee their homes. Ongoing violence threatens communities with killings, injury and sexual violence, while healthcare facilities and personnel are exposed to violence. 

 

Today, more than one third of all MSF projects are dedicated to assisting people living in areas of war and armed conflict. In conflict settings, depending on the priorities and medical needs, our teams may set up operating theatres, clinics, obstetric care and maternal and child healthcare, nutrition programmes, and provide vaccination for preventable diseases, as well as medical care for victims of sexual violence among other services. 

 

The impacts of increased natural disasters, many driven by climate change are growing in frequency and intensity. In 2024 alone, nearly 400 major natural disasters, affected more than 160 million people. Earthquakes, floods, storms and other disasters not only cause immediate casualties and displacement but also destroy healthcare facilities or disrupt essential services –leaving vulnerable communities at risk of public health crises while suffering mental health and socio-economic impacts that lead to long-term hardship for people.

 

In 2023, the Syria-Türkiye earthquake killed tens of thousands of people, and the healthcare system nearly collapsed in Syria. In the same year, Cyclone Freddy, the world’s longest-lasting cyclone at 36 days, devastated the lives of millions of people in southern Africa. In Libya floods killed thousands of people and devastated infrastructure. Floods in 2024 destroyed more than 85,000 hectares of farmland and 730,000 tonnes of food reserves in Mali, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The earthquake in Myanmar in March this year killed more than 3,700 people and injured more than 5,000, with more than 10,000 buildings damaged or collapsed. 

 

Natural disasters are often sudden and brutal. Existing MSF programmes in more than 70 countries are able to respond quickly to unmet needs in communities. For example, in the Syria-Türkiye earthquake, our teams arrived the affected area within hours after the earthquake, treating 7,600 people in six days. We also have pre-packaged kits, mobile medical facilities and professional logistics teams to help ensure our medics respond to emergency medical needs in the affected areas. We will also set up water purification systems, sanitary facilities and distribute hygiene kits to reduce the spread of infectious disease. 

 

Across the globe, millions of people still die each year from infectious diseases that are preventable or that are easy to treat. Measles alone was estimated to infect more than 10 million people in 2023, a 20% jump from the previous year, claiming more tan 100,000 lives – the majority children younger than 5-years old. Cholera cases and deaths have also risen dramatically in recent years, with more than 500,000 reported cases and more than 4,000 deaths in more than 45 countries in 2023 – surge of 70% in deaths compared to the previous year. Malaria, the deadliest parasitic disease, was estimated to claim nearly 600,000 lives in 83 countries in 2023, with 263 million cases worldwide. 

 

Outbreaks of haemorrhagic fevers continue. Most recently with Ebola in Uganda during 2025 and 2022 while cases of Marburg virus disease emerged in neighbouring Tanzania in early 2025. The mortality rate of Ebola and Marburg virus diseases can be as high as 90%, which, coupled with their high contagiousness, is a major public health threat.

 

In the midst of multiple epidemics, MSF uses a variety of measures to stop the spread of epidemics and prevent outbreaks. For example, during the 2022 Uganda Ebola outbreak, we rapidly built isolation centres, while at the same time initiating contact tracing and community education. On a broader scale, MSF teams vaccinate millions of people each year, either as part of routine vaccination programmes or in response to diseases outbreaks such as vaccinating over 3 million people against measles in 2023. MSF also actively takes part in research and development of medical tools such as vaccines and treatment regimes, and advocates for making these tools more widely available. 

 

For over 50 years MSF teams have worked in various crisis zones. Our committed healthcare and other professionals remain steadfast in their commitment to bringing medical and humanitarian assistance to people – whether in the wake of wars and conflict, natural disasters, or in the midst epidemics.

 

"Every day, I meet people who have lost everything. They have fled the war in Sudan. I was one of them. Here they are safe from bombs, but not from hunger and diseases. But I see that I can make a difference with my work at MSF. I tell people: 'We are here for each other!'"
-- Aisha Bilal, 28, a health promoter in a refugee camp in Chad 

 

"Every day, we go from household to household, identifying people in need, providing counselling and referring those in need of urgent care to the hospital. Our goal is to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those we serve! Despite the challenges, we continue to push forward because we know that what we do saves lives."
-- Elizabeth from South Sudan, Head of Community Health Workers in Renk 

 

"We have witnessed many Ebola patients die from the disease. Yet we have also seen many leave the wards as recovered individuals. Leaving our home country to work in such a difficult and high-risk environment, we just hope to add one more handprint to the wall of those who have overcome the virus.”
-- Chiu Cheuk Pong, a Hong Kong nurse who participated in the Ebola response in West Africa in Liberia 

 

As long as there are people in need, we keep going.