A woman walks past building damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Sunday, March 13, 2022. The surrounded southern city of Mariupol, where the war has produced some of the greatest human suffering, remained cut off despite earlier talks on creating aid or evacuation convoys.
Crisis Response

Conflict

More than one-third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for people affected by armed conflict.
More than one-third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for people affected by armed conflict.

Armed conflict devastates lives. Targeted, harassed and trapped within hardship and poverty; people are often forced into flight. In other cases, people live under siege or in constant fear of indiscriminate or even targeted attacks. In addition, people are often left impoverished without sufficient access to basic needs like food and medical care.
 
Comprehensive medical and humanitarian support is vital, but health services are often scarce. In conflict zones, we do not take sides.

We provide care based on needs alone and work to reach those who require medical attention, regardless of which side of the frontline they happen to be.

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Conflict and Health

Conflict and health

HOW DOES CONFLICT DAMAGE NATIONAL HEALTH?

Armed conflict causes injury, displacement and death. Even after the guns have fallen silent, conflict continues to affect people’s health.

It devastates essential health services, disrupts medical supplies, forces medical staff to flee and leaves health systems broken, so when deadly diseases arrive they’re even harder to fight.

For people caught up in violence or its aftermath, it is more important than ever to have access to healthcare, shelter, sanitation and food.

Midwife_iraq
You can still see a lot of anger and pain in people’s eyes wherever you go. ABDULRAHMAN DHANNOON KHALEEL, MSF PROJECT COORDINATOR SUPPORT
IRAQ

Mosul: A city recovering from war

 
Armed conflict

Ivory Coast: marked deterioration of situation in the West

Press Release 4 Mar 2011
 
Armed conflict

Libya: Aid access to violence - affected areas blocked

Press Release 2 Mar 2011
 
Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, December 2011
Armed conflict

Afghanistan: MSF opens surgical hospital in Kunduz

Press Release 10 Oct 2010
 
Portrait of Rosa Cruz Salas (far left, red skirt), daughter of Cruz Elena Mena (centre), with their offspring
Colombia

Three Time Victims - Colombians continue to face violence, neglect and stigma in the conflict

Latest News 27 Jul 2010
 
Armed conflict

DRC: Armed Congolese soldiers enter MSF hospital

Press Release 17 Mar 2010
 
Armed conflict

DRC: Thousands of displaced civilians trapped by conflict

Press Release 9 Feb 2010