Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK and Ireland

🍼 In Nigeria the mortality rate related to prematurity is seven times higher than in western Europe. In the city of Maiduguri, we support a network of maternity facilities including a newly opened facility dedicated to comprehensive and emergency newborn care. This facility has been integrated into the public health system, with MSF teams training Ministry of Health staff in patient care, including care for premature infants. So far, there have been 58 premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit since the facility opened in June this year. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eT2dyq9y #WorldPrematurityDay 📷: Colin Delfosse

❗ In conflict settings, such as Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza, it's crucial all staff, including those who aren't medical, are trained to stop blood loss. Acting quickly is absolutely critical to saving lives. EVERY SECOND COUNTS. Find out more about trauma care: https://lnkd.in/eMwsxVY5

⚠️ On 10 November, Israeli authorities blocked, without explanation, the medical evacuation of eight children and their caretakers from Gaza who are in need of medical care, including a two-year-old with leg amputations, to the MSF hospital in Jordan. We strongly denounce this decision. “It's utterly shocking and outrageous that children who need essential treatment are being blocked by Israel from leaving Gaza. Israel’s denial of urgent medical evacuations defies reason and humanity,” says Moeen Mahmood, MSF country director in Jordan. In recent months, MSF applied for 32 children and caretakers to be medically evacuated from Gaza to Jordan. Only 6 were allowed to leave. Lengthy procedures and unexplained denials block the provision of medical treatment for children who have been severely injured in Gaza. The healthcare system in Gaza has been dismantled, meaning those in need of specialised medical care have nowhere to go. According to WHO, there are at least 14,000 people in need of medical evacuation. Over 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza and 100,000 injured since 7 October 2023. MSF calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure medical evacuations for Palestinians in need of medical care, including their caregivers, while ensuring that all patients and their caregivers are guaranteed a safe, voluntary and dignified return to Gaza.

💉Diabetes is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, affecting over half a billion people, including those displaced by conflict and crisis. Ghassan, who lives with diabetes, shared his experience managing the condition: “Back in Palestine, I was taking my diabetes medication consistently and keeping my blood sugar levels regular. That stopped when I got to Turkey. When the insulin in vials given to me by UNWRA ran out, I tried to buy some more, but it was too expensive.” #WorldDiabetesDay *Amina's name has been changed to protect her identity.

🔴 On 13 November at around 11am, an airstrike hit the densely populated zone of Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, South Gaza, with causalities reported. MSF only had a few minutes to evacuate its healthcare clinic located around 250m away from the place of the attack. “The blast was huge. We didn’t receive an official evacuation order from Israeli forces, we were notified by the residents. Both staff and patients fled the clinic. We later found that equipment was destroyed, and that shrapnel damaged the desalination plant,” Myriam, MSF coordinator. Around 500 patients and caregivers were present before the evacuation. MSF teams carry out between 600 to 700 outpatient consultations per day in the clinic, and will reopen the clinic given the pressing needs of the population living in tents and dire conditions. The use of heavy weapons in zones declared by Israeli authorities as safe, is further proof of the blatant disregard for Palestinian lives and humanitarian law. We strongly condemn such attacks and call once again for the protection of medical facilities, health care workers and civilians.

On 11 November, an MSF ambulance transporting three young people with gunshot wounds was stopped by Haitian police. After an attempt to arrest the patients and firing shots in the air, the police escorted the ambulance to Hôpital La Paix. Once there, law enforcement officers and members of a self-defense group surrounded the ambulance, slashed the tires, and tear-gassed MSF personnel inside the vehicle to force them out. They then took the wounded patients a short distance away, outside the hospital grounds, where at least two of them were executed. The MSF personnel in the ambulance were violently attacked, insulted, tear-gassed, threatened with death, and held against their will for more than four hours before being allowed to leave.

Music as therapy 🎶⤵️ This is one of the ways our teams are providing mental health care for patients in Lankien, South Sudan, to help reduce anxiety and improve their mood. Continuous cycles of conflict, displacement, food insecurity, and extreme poverty have created overwhelming stress. MSF teams care for patients with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and postpartum depression affecting new mothers. Mental health services are limited in the country, and MSF is one of the few organizations that provides this type of care. With scarce resources and deep-seated stigma around mental health issues, many people face their struggles in silence, enduring a daily battle that goes unseen and unheard. We also raise awareness about the need to integrate mental health care into the broader health care system, so people in South Sudan can begin to heal from the deeper scars left by displacement and poverty. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gUJ66vy3

⏰In a humanitarian emergency, every second counts. You can buy us vital time. Learn more about MSF trauma care: https://lnkd.in/eB-TgaRu

🔴 Sudan faces one of the most devastating crises the world has seen for decades. The numbers are unfathomable – one in five people are displaced, half the population is facing acute hunger, and between 70 and 80 percent of healthcare facilities are no longer fully functional. No matter how hard we work, it is not enough. We desperately need to see a massive, immediate scale up of aid by all organisations and humanitarian assistance allowed to reach all areas where it is needed. #TalkAboutSudan

✍️ Did you know we offer free teaching resources? From biology to French to art and design, we've got materials for any subject to get students thinking about and engaging with humanitarian challenges. 📚Check out all the resources 👇 https://lnkd.in/gXMr84jF