Finnish

Emergency surgery at Al Salakhanah hospital in Yemen

After a patient makes an astonishing recovery, Finnish surgeon Heidi reflects on the wider problem of providing medical care in places where resources are limited

16 Sep 2019 / 3 minute read

Heidi outside the MSF health centre in Yemen

Heidi Wikstrom

Surgeon

Yemen: A dangerous diagnosis

Finnish surgeon Heidi Wikstrom has just arrived in Yemen, where an unexpected diagnosis could have a wider impact in the community

30 Aug 2019 / 5 minute read

A patient lies on a stretcher in MSF's project in Mocha, Yemen

Marissa Gripenberg

Epidemiologist

Yemen: "Medical care shouldn't be a luxury"

Finnish epidemiologist Marissa is in Yemen, where years of conflict have had a devastating impact on the healthcare system

01 Apr 2019 / 5 minute read

Marissa Gripenberg

Epidemiologist

Feeling at home: An amazing connection in Yemen

Amidst the ongoing conflict in Yemen, Finnish epidemiologist Marissa finds a pocket of familiarity when she visits a local family

25 Mar 2019 / 3 minute read

Marissa Gripenberg

Epidemiologist

Mapping the hotspots: How I help to fight disease in Yemen

Epidemiologist Marissa arrives in war-torn Yemen, ready to help track and tackle disease outbreaks in a county where the healthcare system has collapsed

18 Mar 2019 / 5 minute read

Kariantti Kallio

Anaesthetics

No time for goodbyes: Leaving Bangui

After an assignment marked by violence, an MSF anaesthetist faces his next challenge: returning home.

29 Oct 2018 / 3 minute read

Kariantti Kallio

Anaesthetics

A first time for everything: learning fast in Bangui

With a patient bleeding heavily, Kariantti and the MSF team had to act quickly. He blogs from Bangui, Central African Republic...

09 Oct 2018 / 3 minute read

Kariantti Kallio

Anaesthetics

After the fight: Returning to routine in Bangui

After nearby conflict forced his MSF team to evacuate a maternity hospital in Bangui, Central African Republic, Finnish anaesthetist Kariantti writes about returning to routine in the days following the fighting.

01 Oct 2018 / 3 minute read

An MSF ambulance arrives at the Castor maternity hospital in Bangui.

Kariantti Kallio

Anaesthetics

Operating under fire: Keeping calm in Bangui

Fighting rages near an MSF maternity hospital in Bangui, Central African Republic. Inside, Finnish anaesthetist Kariantti and his team try to remain calm as they continue to operate on women in need of urgent obstetric surgery.

21 Sep 2018 / 4 minute read

Kariantti Kallio

Anaesthetics

“War isn’t just about gunshot wounds”: Maternity care in Bangui

Welcome to Castors maternity hospital, the “first and last line of defence” for mothers and newborns in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic. Finnish anaesthetist Kariantti, just back from his second assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF), shares his experience of arriving at the lifesaving hospital.

10 Sep 2018 / 5 minute read

Heidi Wikstrom

Surgeon

Surgery in Agok: Some patients you remember forever

Some patients you remember forever. Heidi shares this emotional blog from the Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Agok, which lies in a special administrative area between Sudan and South Sudan.

18 Aug 2018 / 4 minute read

Heidi Wikstrom

Surgeon

“Her life is going to be totally different from what she must have hoped for”

Heidi Wikström is a Finnish surgeon currently on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Abyei Special Administrative Area – a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan – where MSF operates the area’s only secondary healthcare facility. In this heartbreaking blog, she shares the story of a young mother’s life-changing surgery.

12 Jul 2018 / 3 minute read