When shrapnel tears through the body, is there still a chance to calm that rapid breath?

Heavy offensives by warring parties—including shelling, airstrikes, missile fire, and drone attacks—often result in mass civilian casualties with complex injuries or deaths. Reports indicate that in 2024, explosive weapons caused 61,353 civilian casualties worldwide, with airstrikes accounting for more than 60%². Those wounded in war often experience rapid breathing due to blood loss and severe pain, instantly thrown into a fight for survival.

MSF has medical projects in multiple conflict zones such as Sudan, Gaza and Haiti, providing comprehensive healthcare for war-wounded patients:

1	2	3	4
Emergency care such as bleeding control and fluid resuscitation	Emergency surgery and reconstructive surgery	Wound care and pain management	Rehabilitation and prosthetic support

In Yemen, mired in civil war for years, MSF established a trauma centre in Aden. Over 12 years, it has provided 65,000 emergency consultations and nearly 68,000 surgeries for war-wounded patients in the region.

One day's income from you enables us to deliver impartial, specialised medical assistance where the need for war injury care is most urgent. Fighting to calm their rapid, fragile breathing!

In the midst of war, can a newborn safely take that very first breath?

In conflict and other crises, medical facilities struggle to remain functional, and pregnant women face immense obstacles in seeking care—seriously affecting newborns’ chances of survival. According to World Bank data, in East Asia and the Pacific, only 10.7 out of every 1,000 newborns died in 2024. In fragile and conflict-affected countries, mortality rates are 49.2—4.5 times higher than in our region. Without adequate prenatal and postnatal care, a newborn life may not be able to survive to take their first breath or cry; mothers may also die from pregnancy and childbirth complications.

MSF runs maternal and child health projects in many crisis-affected areas such as South Sudan, Yemen, the Central African Republic and Bangladesh, providing comprehensive care for vulnerable pregnant women and babies:

1	2	3
Antenatal check ups and care	Safe delivery rooms and emergency obstetric care	Neonatal care and postnatal care for women

In Ethiopia, which hosts large numbers of refugees, MSF operates a medical centre in Kule refugee camp in Gambella State near the South Sudan border. The centre supports over 55,000 South Sudanese refugees and others, offering medical assistance including maternal and child health services. Globally, our obstetric teams assist with an average of 1,000 births every day.

One day's income from you enables us to deliver life sustaining medical aid where maternal and newborn health needs are most urgent—fighting to protect a baby’s very first breath.

When the body is weakened by malnutrition, how long can those faint breaths be sustained?

In many war-torn areas and long-term conflict zones, active fighting, sieges, blockades, destruction of infrastructure, and restrictions on humanitarian aid have disrupted food supplies, turning hunger into another weapon of war. In 2024, an estimated 37.7 million children worldwide suffered from acute malnutrition³. Since 2024 and 2025, when countries began cutting funding for international relief, many food and nutrition support programmes have been forced to scale back or shut down. For the malnourished—especially children—physical functions weaken, breathing becomes shallow, immunity plummets, and lives hang by a thread.

MSF runs nutrition programmes in conflict affected areas such as Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia, providing care to restore physical functions and immunity in malnourished children:

1	2	3	4
Inpatient therapeutic feeding for children	Outpatient therapeutic food treatment	Nutrition screening	Promotion of healthy diets

In Sudan, in 2024, MSF provided outpatient nutrition treatment to 39,702 malnourished children and admitted 11,300 severely ill children for inpatient feeding programmes.

One day's income from you enables us to deliver life-nourishing medical aid where food crises are most severe—protecting the weakening breaths of malnourished children.

After the trauma of war, can unsettled breath find its rhythm again?

Armed conflict and wartime violence strip people of familiar routines, separate them from loved ones, and force them to witness killings and destruction — leaving invisible yet lasting scars. According to WHO estimates, in 2025 around 67 million people with mental health disorders were affected by conflict, disaster, or displacement. For those facing life upheaval and traumatic experiences, psychological distress can disrupt physical responses, making their breathing rapid and difficult to control.

MSF runs mental health support programmes in multiple crisis zones — such as Ukraine, Lebanon, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo — offering care to help people regulate body and mind:

1	2	3
Psychological first aid	Psychosocial support	Individual and group therapy

More than four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, MSF provided 12,500 individual mental health consultations across the country in 2024.

One day's income from you enables us to deliver comforting medical aid in heart-breaking crisis zones, helping to protect the unsettled breathing of people affected by trauma, create psychological resilience, and support them as they gradually rebuild their lives.