© Pete Masters
1. “Not my war”: From Sri Lanka to Syria
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A member of MSF staff photographed in the Sri-Lankan town of Killinochchi, in 2007
As the human race, we can transcend these artificial boundaries and barriers, and celebrate difference rather than let it divide us.
What can years of both living and working in conflict zones teach a person? One staff member writes this anonymous but deeply personal reflection on the impact of war and the lessons that inspired their path towards humanitarianism.
2. TB: Treating twin taboos in Belarus
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Psychotherapist Christian and members of the Doctors Without Borders team
Like tuberculosis, alcohol dependence is a recognised disease. Both are a taboo. Both are lonely.
“Those who suffer from tuberculosis are pushed to the margins of society,” says Christian, a German mental health specialist working on a TB project in Belarus. Faced with a devastating diagnosis, many patients are also battling a dependence on alcohol – creating a complex health issue that Christian is determined to help them overcome.
3. Innovation: A new approach to preventing HIV
Without condoms, they had no way of protecting themselves from HIV. It was clear they needed another way.”
In the Kimbi region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a community of around 600 sex workers live in the middle of a “melting pot” for the spread of HIV. Charles Ssonko, an HIV advisor, shares the innovative and pragmatic approach his team took to empowering women in a high-risk situation.
4. Cyclone Idai: “Grit and determination”
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An MSF team walk on foot to access a village cut off by damage caused by Cylone idai in Chimanimani.
Our feet were steady and our teeth locked with grit and determination to access Ngorima clinic, despite the horrific sight before us.
Just days after Cyclone Idai hit Zimbabwe, Kenyan doctor Elizabeth and her team set off to reach a healthcare centre that had been cut off by the disaster. Crossing through a devastated and unrecognisable landscape, Elizabeth shares the struggle of their journey and the stories of the survivors they met.
