MSF: A Year of Impact in Picture in 2024

13 December 2024

Health promoter Aisha B. (28) accompanies 80 years old Aisha G. to the MSF clinic in Adré transit camp, eastern Chad.

Over the past 12 months, Médecins Sans Frontières teams have witnessed the continuation and escalation of conflicts, such as those in Gaza and Sudan, where unabated wars have raged into a second year. Our teams were also there for people and families seeking safety throughout the year, whether at the Mexico border or onboard our search and rescue ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

This collection of photos, taken between December 2023 and December 2024, features the highs and lows we – and those we assist – experience as we provide medical and humanitarian assistance in over 70 countries. They show the breaking points – such as when we had to suspend activities in Haiti’s capital – but also resilience and joy, as when we witnessed a mother meeting her baby for the first time in South Sudan. These photos show how bearing witness can create a point of connection.

Conflict and War

In conflict zones, MSF provides medical care based solely on need, with all funding from private donors to maintain independence. This allows us to reach those in need, even in dangerous situations.

War causes trauma, disrupts healthcare, and increases mental health issues. MSF teams offer specialised care, including for sexual violence survivors. In 2024, our teams are working in places such as Gaza, Lebanon, and South Sudan, providing life-saving care amid ongoing violence and displacement.

Omar stands in the rubble of his home after it was bulldozed by Israeli forces in Jenin refugee camp.

Palestine, Khan Younis, south Gaza, April 23, 2024. Photograph taken inside Nasser Hospital, after a siege by the Israeli forces. At the end of January, the Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for the entire area and surrounded the hospital, which found itself at the centre of intense fighting for several weeks.

View of the Delmas 18 area, after fighting between armed groups and police forces.

A rickshaw taxi goes around a destroyed tank belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces, a remnant of the violent clashes that took place in El Geneina in 2023. West Darfur, Sudan. February 20, 2024. Copyright Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi

Al Shifa medical complex After 14 days of siege by the Israeli forces.

Margarita Rojas Mena, in Mojaudó, stitched up the photograph of the community school, wounded by bullets from an armed confrontation.
Mojaudó, Alto Baudó, Chocó.

“During incursions, basic needs in the refugee camps are not met. Essentials like hygiene items, diapers, baby formula, and water are scarce. The destruction is severe, with critical infrastructure, including water systems, heavily damaged.” Alix Meert, MSF Project Coordinator.

Natural Disasters

With over 50 years of experience, MSF is an expert in rolling out emergency responses in complex settings.

Natural disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes can overwhelm entire populations within minutes, causing widespread injury, trauma, and loss of life. Clean water, healthcare, and transport systems are often severely impacted, making rapid medical care and a coordinated response essential to protecting survivors.

From large-scale catastrophes to local emergencies, MSF’s network of aid workers and supplies around the world enables us to quickly respond to disasters. In 2024, we’ve provided emergency relief in places like Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, South Sudan, and Nigeria, delivering life-saving medical care and support to those in urgent need.

In Ikongo district, located in the south-eastern region of Madagascar, access to healthcare and the delivery of humanitarian aid is particularly difficult due to road difficulties and the high frequency of natural disasters affecting the island. To reach health centers, it is often necessary to cross rivers or walk several kilometers.

Roda Nefazal Mnot, 45 year-old carrying the wood she collected from the floodwaters for firewood. Her 5-year-old son follows her everywhere.

Internally Displaced Camp population (IPD) camp, Bentiu, Unity State, Rubkona County, South Sudan.

A man standing on a canoe near the town of Old Fangak.
The Sudd region is one of the world's largest wetlands. Its inhabitants have adapted their lives to the natural ebb and flow of seasonal floods, which depend on rainfall patterns and water levels in upstream Lake Victoria, Uganda.
However in recent years extreme flooding has engulfed up to two-thirds of South Sudan.
In Old Fangak, only mud dykes protect the town's thousands of inhabitants from submersion.
Old Fangak, Jonglei state, South Sudan, July 2024.

MSF van crossing a wooden bridge, a short distance away from a primary healthcare facility MSF is supporting in Cross River state. The wooden bridge was constructed after the concrete bridge collapsed. It is now old too, so, MSF van must cross without passengers to reduce weight. An MSF logistician guides the van as it drives across the wooden bridge.

Road between Abyei Town and Agok, Abyei Special Administrative Area.

The 38-kilometer trip from Agok to Abyei takes over 6 hours due to poor roads. MSF uses a tractor to navigate mud bogs. The road conditions prevent water and sanitation trucks from reaching Abyei.

Julienne, a resident of the Kingabwa district in the commune of Limete has witnessed floods for several years now. This time she refused to leave her flooded home due to lack of accommodation in which to shelter with her whole family. Standing in front of her door, she waits for her children who have gone to school with a canoe.

Maternal and paediatric healthcare

Many women across the world give birth without medical assistance, increasing the risk of complications or death. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing countries, and the majority are preventable with appropriate care.

MSF teams work with pregnant women to provide delivery services, emergency obstetric care, and post-delivery consultations. We collaborate with midwives and traditional birth attendants to identify complications early, helping to prevent maternal deaths. In 2024, MSF continues to offer essential care in countries like South Sudan, Gaza, Chad, and Nigeria.

Ita Joice, 27 years old, meets her baby girl, Juan, during her caesarean section in Mundari County Hospital, the only secondary healthcare facility in Kajo Keji, Central Equatoria.

Hin So, MSF midwife activity manager checking on a newborn baby at Nasser Hospital, southern Gaza.

Shahid Khan helps his son Abdul Rehman with his homework inside their home in Machar Colony. Shahid Khan has successfully completed his hepatitis C treatment, Karachi, Pakistan.

A mother and child inside the therapeutic feeding center for malnourished children at the MSF Hospital in Metche, in eastern Chad, August 7, 2024. Metche camp hosts about 40,000 Sudanese refugees who have fled violence in Darfur. Finbarr O’Reilly/VII Photo.

Ndoungamandji Solange, Aide nurse is examining a patient

Maryam gets a supply of supplementary feeding product as she stays in the intensive care ward of MSF’s inpatient nutrition hospital in Maiduguri with her mother Maryam.

Refugees and Displacement

An unprecedented 108.4 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes due to violence, conflict, natural disasters, or extreme weather. Among them, 35.3 million are refugees seeking safety in other countries, with over half of them being under 18.

MSF provides vital care to refugees and displaced people in crisis zones, including Mexico, Lebanon, Syria, South Sudan, and Gaza. We also conduct search and rescue operations at sea, helping those fleeing across dangerous waters. Additionally, millions remain stateless, denied basic rights like healthcare and education.

A caravan of migrants escorted by police officers advances along the route between the towns of La Venta and Juchitán, in southern Mexico.

Displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip carry their belongings as they leave following an evacuation order by the Israeli army on May 6, 2024.

The return of the displaced to Khan Yunis and another from Rafah, during the end of last April and during the beginning of this month.

Aerial view of the migrant camp at the edge of the Rio Bravo that separates Matamoros, Tamaulipas, from Brownsville, Texas.

On 8 June 2024, after instructions from the Italian authorities, the 11 bodies which were recovered from the Mediterranean Sea the day before, were transferred by the Geo Barents team to an Italian Coast Guard vessel near Lampadusa.

Syrian refugee Kazem, 20, left, and his sister Marimar, 14, hold their kittens in a parking lot in the city of Saida, south of Lebanon, Wednesday, October 16, 2024, where Syrian refugees, who lived in the south of Lebanon, have found refuge after the Israeli escalation on Lebanon.

Syrian refugee Shams (not on the picture), whose name means "sun" in Arabic, remains bright and warm, despite the hardships she and her family have endured. Along with her children – Mimar (24), Mimas, Kazem (20), and Marimar (14) – Shams was displaced from Kfar Roumane and now lives in a parking lot in Saida, southern Lebanon. With an enduring smile, she recounts the moments her family escaped Israeli airstrikes in the town they had called home for over a decade, fleeing for twelve hours on foot to finally find relative safety in Saida. A few days later, Kazem and one of his sisters made a dangerous trip back to their former home on a borrowed motorcycle to rescue their two kittens, Simba and Mimi. “We thought of them as we were leaving,” Marimar says, as she fondly strokes one of the kittens, “but the airstrikes were too close. I’m so relieved we could go back for them.”

Ezdihar al Diqa, 39, and her daughter Nouraya, 14, in the room they have shared since September 29 with 14 other people in the Azariye displaced persons camp in the center of the Lebanese capital.

Mohammed was displaced from Al-Hasahisa camp as fighting started between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the camp. Mohammed and his family endured months of bombings and lack of water, that was blocked from entering the camp. Eventually, together with his family he fled his home in the camp and came to the University of Zalingei.

“We managed to escape with our children, and left all of our belongings,” explains Mohammed. “When we left Al-Hasahisa camp, they beat me seriously. Also, my brother was seriously beaten, and now he is unable to move, sick at home.”

Over a thousand people are living in the University compound, most displaced from Al-Hasahisa camp. As one of the first ones to arrive to the looted and damaged university campus, Mohammed was able to secure an office space for him and his family.

As most humanitarian actors have not returned to Sudan after the war started over a year ago, displaced people have been largely cut from humanitarian assistance.

“Sometimes we cut trees to get fire food to support the family, but [so far] we haven´t received any humanitarian support,” explains Mohammed. “I’m trying to work as a carrier, but the salary is too little.”

As food and medicine prices spiked and health care services collapsed in most of the country, those displaced rarely receive medical care and medicine. At the University, people are trying to collaborate to gain access to medication.

“We all make contributions and anyone participating can share [medication],” explains Mohammed. “We share with the community and treat the patient.”

The US Mexico border wall ends, and a chest-high fence continues to mark the US-Mexico border. This place, 18 miles East of Sasabe, Arizona, is used as a crossing point into the US by migrants and asylum seekers. The End of the Wall camp is located right across from this gap.

Medical Care and Rehabilitation

In conflict zones and areas affected by disaster, MSF provides essential medical care to those in urgent need. Our teams offer treatment and surgeries for trauma injuries, infections, malnutrition, and other life-threatening conditions, ensuring that people receive immediate and ongoing care.

In addition to emergency response, we focus on long-term rehabilitation for survivors. This includes physical therapy for those with severe injuries, mental health support for trauma victims, and ongoing care for those suffering from chronic conditions or disabilities.

An example of our rehabilitative care can be seen with Karam, 17, from Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza. After surviving an Israeli airstrike that leveled his family’s house, Karam suffered severe burns to his face and body, as well as a serious arm injury. He is now receiving comprehensive reconstructive surgery and physiotherapy at MSF’s Reconstructive Surgery Hospital in Amman, Jordan.

Amman, Jordan. 27 August, 2024.

Karam, 17, from Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza, during a physiotherapy session at MSFÕs Reconstructive Surgery Hospital in Amman, Jordan. Karam nearly died after his family's house was leveled by an Israeli airstrike. He suffered severe burns to his face and other areas of his body, and also suffered a serious injury to his arm. He is receiving comprehensive reconstructive surgery and physiotherapy at the MSF hospital in Amman.

Mr Yurii has been in hospital for a month and a half, following a mine-blast injury that resulted in amputation.

"I was in trauma for a month, trying to save my leg, but the infection was severe. Initially, I was very worried, but I accepted it. They showed me how to train and the types of prostheses available, and I realised I could walk again. Now I’m actively working with MSF psychologists and physical therapists. They listen, offer advice, and bring me interesting books. I enjoy historical and professional ones; the last ones were about Genghis Khan and the Cossacks. I still want to learn to drive, so I have work ahead of me."

Mr Yurii is focusing on balance exercises to expedite his progress with the prosthesis.

Gisele Dorika, 18, from Rugari in Rutshuru territory, in the labour ward before giving birth at the MSF-supported Kanyaruchinya health centre, north of Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, 5 January 2024.

In the operating theatre of the Salama clinic in Bunia, a team of surgeons and anaesthetists from the Ministry of Health and MSF work together to treat trauma patients. In their first year of operation, the teams performed 2,050 operations at the Bunia surgery centre, Ituri, 2 June 2024.

Overflow patient tent at Mayen Abun Hospital

Overflow ward to cope with increase in malaria cases

South Sudan is in the middle of malaria season. The majority of patients at Mayen Abun Hospital are positive for malaria, some of them suffering from severe cases.

Due to the increase in severe cases, the hospital bed occupancy rate is over 100% (they originally have 86 beds). To accommodate all the patients who need to be admitted for treatment and follow-up, the hospital has set up two temporary tents with a total of 40 extra beds.

In the photo, a medical staff member places a fan in one of the tents to relieve inpatients from the high temperatures in Mayen Abun.

A nurse walks through the room where patients received the diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) while a patient is reflected in the glass door as she talks to visitors at the Centre de Traitement Epidemiologique in Siguiri, Guinea. Visitors are welcome in a limited capacity, having to stand behind a fence to create a two-meter-wide barrier to prevent the spread of diphtheria. MSF has helped treat over 2100 patients as of Jan. 4, 2024, and has been responding to a diphtheria outbreak in the region since mid-August, the likes of which has not been seen in the country for the last 30 years.

Rihana, a 28-year-old patient participating in the endTB-Q clinical trial, sits for an audiometric examination in a soundproof booth to verify her hearing capacity during a routine consultation at the endTB clinic run by Interactive Research & Development (IRD) in Kotri, Pakistan. The trial aims to test a short treatment for a very hard-to-treat form of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis -an airborne infectious disease that has grown resistant to standard medications: pre-extensively drug-resistant TB (pre-XDR-TB). endTB is a 7-year partnership among Partners In Health (PIH), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Interactive Research & Development (IRD).

Following the explosion of a fuel tanker in Mirogôane on 14 September, many injured people were treated at various MSF facilities. Six patients are currently being treated at the MSF trauma hospital in Carrefour. MSF teams are working hard to provide them with the necessary care. One of them, Kenol Coman, has extensive severe burns on several parts of his body.

The patient has broken ribs, which makes it difficult for him to breathe, and burns on his legs and hands. Ihor remembers that he was blown up by a mine. It is difficult to remember the events of that day.

The main focus of MSF's work in the Auaris region's communities is to reduce malaria infections. The disease is endemic across the Amazon region, where the Yanomami Indigenous Territory is located. With this aim, our teams carry out activities to diagnose and treat malaria, as well as to raise awareness about the disease and prevent it.

Furthermore, MSF supports the Yanomami and Ye'kwana branch of the Indigenous Health System by providing primary healthcare, mental health and health promotion services. Our multidisciplinary team hasaround 20 staff across different areas, such as: doctors, psychologists, nurses, microscopists, health promoters, anthropologists and intercultural mediators.

Our teams are supporting the Yanomami and Ye'kwana branch of the Indigenous Health System in response to the region´s public health crisis. While our main focus is fighting malaria, we also provide primary healthcare and mental health assistance.

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Among the powerful images captured, one stands out: Christopher Lockyear, the Secretary General of MSF, holding up a photo of the destroyed MSF shelter in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, Gaza. This image serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by our teams on the ground.

Another deeply unsettling image depicts a 20-month-old toddler who was struck by shrapnel while shopping with her mother in a nearby market after a bomb blast tore through the neighbourhood. The child was brought to the Bashair Training Hospital in South Khartoum, where an MSF emergency team operated to save her life after a part of her skull cap fell off during the X-ray. This image captures not only the devastating consequences of violence but also the life-saving interventions MSF provides in the most critical moments.

MSF: A Year of Impact in Picture in 2024