Cover: Aisha, from El-Geneina, West Darfur, fled with her family when war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. Now she works as a health promoter with MSF at the Adré transit camp in Chad. Read Aisha’s letter from Chad on page 12.
Médecins Sans Frontières is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that was founded in France in 1971. The organisation delivers emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, exclusion from healthcare and natural disasters. Assistance is provided based on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.
Today Médecins Sans Frontières is a worldwide movement of 24 associations, including one in Australia. In 2024, 125 Australians and New Zealanders filled roles in our medical humanitarian projects.
Médecins Sans Frontières Australia acknowledges the Gadigal of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land on which our office is located. We recognise their ongoing custodianship of land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
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Preventing the spread of infectious diseases is a collective responsibility
Violent conflicts, as well as the US government’s suspension of nearly all foreign aid programs, are having serious consequences for the world’s most vulnerable people, including a lack of protection from vaccine-preventable illnesses.
The Gaza ceasefire announced at the beginning of the year brought a rare moment of relief and positivity to a situation of prolonged violence and excruciating suffering for millions of people. While it was very much welcomed, the pause also marked the beginning of the grieving process for many.
Alongside responding to the destruction in Gaza, our teams are also focusing on the catastrophic situation in Sudan, where after 18 months of protracted and brutal war, 25 million people face crisis levels of hunger and 11 million are displaced.
And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, escalating conflict in North and South Kivu provinces in recent months has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee the violence. Thousands took shelter in the MSF-supported hospital in Masisi in January.
The extent and intensity of conflict in the world has challenged us in new ways in the delivery of essential healthcare, in terms of access to the people who need care, and in terms of protection for patients and our team members.
That essential healthcare includes vaccinations.
Conflicts – along with collapsed health systems, interrupted supply chains and other factors including the COVID-19 pandemic – have resulted in low routine vaccine coverage, especially for children, and especially in conflict-vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas.
We’ve seen some of the consequences of interrupted routine vaccination programs in Gaza – where polio re-emerged after 25 years, and the spread of other infectious diseases increased. In parts of Yemen, gaps in the availability and accessibility of routine vaccination programs have led to a dramatic surge in measles since 2023. Untreated measles leads to serious complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain damage and encephalitis. More than 100,000 children globally, mostly under age five, died from measles in 2023.
And since late 2022, Nigeria has been at the centre of a diphtheria outbreak brought on by low vaccination rates. Diphtheria is rare in societies where vaccination is widespread, but it’s devastating families in several West African countries.
As a midwife, I consider it a privilege to help bring new life into the world. That precious time with a family after a baby is born is an opportunity to set them up for the first six months of a child’s life, including through a vaccination regime. Knowing that you are able to do that for them; and knowing how much comfort a family gets from that protection, is one of the strongest sources of satisfaction in the role. This care package is now under threat.
Stopping the spread of vaccinepreventable illnesses is a responsibility that falls to all of us. It’s the collective obligation for all humanitarians to work in partnership, across country and continental borders.
News of the US government defunding the World Health Organization and other essential United Nations agencies has brought uncertainty for people who rely on humanitarian assistance. This decision is having life-threatening consequences for people in the humanitarian contexts where we work.
In keeping with our principle of independence, MSF doesn’t rely on US or any government funding, and we are able to continue providing lifesaving care regardless of shifting political winds. However, there are many organisations that we partner with that will be affected and unable to continue to support people and communities. This will have a direct impact on our teams, and the scope of need and MSF’s work.
We are most concerned about the people who rely on essential services for survival. The World Health Organization is a key partner in the international humanitarian system, and it plays a critical role in setting health standards and monitoring public health.
I remember back in 2002 when working in Afghanistan, we identified a case of polio in the remote mountainous province of Bamyan (where we still have clinics today).
When we notified authorities about the child’s condition, the World Health Organization quickly responded by starting a polio program. This was core to community care and these relationships and connections were as important and relevant back then as they are now.
Disease knows no borders –we know this from our work in more than 70 countries.
Along with its indispensable work in so many areas of global public health, the World Health Organization has led eradication efforts for some of history’s cruellest diseases, including polio and smallpox, and it aims to eliminate a further 20 diseases by 2030. What will become of those goals – and the people who now have a significantly greater chance of being affected by those diseases?
At the same time, the US government’s suspension of nearly all foreign aid programs interrupted critical work, and it continues to have serious consequences for the world’s most vulnerable people.
Carried by his mother, Tcheussi, 18-month-old Kangakolo leaves Kampene General Referral Hospital, in eastern DRC, after recovering from measles. Tcheussi says that in their village, located 18km from the hospital, many children lost their lives during a measles epidemic, including five from her own extended family.
We are hearing from colleagues in the sector that vaccination programs have been stopped, essential medicine is no longer available, and displaced people can no longer access essential services, including food assistance.
MSF administers many millions of vaccines every year as part of routine vaccination and targeted campaigns during outbreaks. Disease knows no borders – we know this from our work in more than 70 countries. The world knows this from our experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Confronting global health challenges, sharing knowledge and expertise, and developing new tools and treatments – these are all our collective responsibility, actions that benefit everyone everywhere.
Now is the time to strengthen health systems, not undermine them.
Katrina Penney
President, MSF Australia
Founding Trustee, MSF New Zealand
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Ramping up mobile response
Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave displacement camps around Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo after the Mouvement du 23 Mars/Alliance Fleuve Congo (M23/AFC) group seized the North Kivu provincial capital in late January. Goma was host to around 650,000 displaced people who had fled fighting in the surrounding areas. Following evacuation orders issued by the new de facto authorities in February, virtually all the camps were abandoned. Lines of men, women and children appeared on the roads, carrying what little they could by foot, motorbike or shared minibus.
“We deployed teams along the return routes to assess the health facilities that would be overwhelmed by this sudden influx of patients,” said Anthony Kergosien, head of MSF’s mobile activities around Goma. “Everywhere, we found the same reality: health facilities that were already barely functional before the crisis were either abandoned or, at worst, destroyed or looted.”
By late February, MSF’s emergency mobile teams were supporting health facilities in the remote areas of Buhumba, Kilolirwe, Sake, Kingi, Luhonga and Makombo. High risk of food insecurity as well as epidemics underscored the need for urgent humanitarian support.
Following the collapse of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, MSF teams travelled to Damascus, Aleppo, Daraa, Hama and other areas in early 2025 to carry out assessments. After almost 14 years of war, the humanitarian and medical needs in the country are high. The displacement crisis – once considered the biggest in the world – is still far from over. The depleted health infrastructure, lack of safe access to care, dire living conditions and catastrophic water and sanitation infrastructure raise significant concerns for people’s safety and wellbeing.
MSF is committed to continue providing medical care to the people in northwest and northeast Syria, and we are expanding our presence to launch activities in Damascus and other governorates.
Suspension of activities in Khartoum hospital
Bashair Teaching Hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in south Khartoum, in Sudan’s capital, has seen repeated incidents of armed fighters entering with weapons and threatening medical staff. A patient was shot and killed in last November, and attackers fired weapons inside the emergency ward in December. Continued attacks led to the painful decision to suspend MSF medical activities at the hospital.
“The suffering we witness in Khartoum is enormous – mass casualty events have become almost routine,” said MSF emergency coordinator Claire San Filippo. “We have worked tirelessly in very difficult conditions to provide medical care, but without the security to operate safely, it has become untenable to continue when the lives of our staff and patients are threatened.”
Between May 2023 and December 2024
Bashair Teaching Hospital treated 25,585 patients in the emergency room – more than 9,000 due to violence such as blast and gunshot wounds.
NIGERIA
The emergency facility saving mothers and babies
Despite progress over the past decades, Nigeria grapples with some of the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the world – approximately 270,000 babies die at birth each year. In Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, a specialised medical facility has become a lifeline for pregnant women and newborns facing critical health risks.
Since opening in June 2024, the Kushari Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEMONC) facility’s patient numbers have grown steadily, underscoring its vital role in saving lives. Run by the Ministry of Health with support from MSF, the CEMONC facility provides free, lifesaving care for pregnancyrelated complications such as pre-eclampsia, pre-term, obstructed delivery, and postpartum haemorrhage.
Most patients are referred from 11 facilities in Maiduguri city, but a vast proportion of women still give birth at home and sometimes die at home from complications or arrive at facilities too late. This has led MSF to promote links between the maternity units and traditional birth attendants to build community trust and encourage women to seek care in time, rather than waiting for problems to arise.
A cyclone with 250-kmh winds caused widespread devastation in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte in mid-December 2024. For the most vulnerable communities living in informal settlements, the challenges have been especially dire, with their homes reduced to vast expanses of sheet metal and debris.
More than 100,000 people on the island live in settlements like these. Many are undocumented and are excluded from state aid, leaving them without food, clean water or medical care. MSF teams have been repairing water points and providing primary healthcare and mental health support through mobile clinics. The also launched nutritional surveillance for children under five to treat malnutrition.
MSF deputy program manager Matthieu Chantrelle says the medical needs for these communities are overwhelming and food scarcity is rampant.
“Our teams have been visiting several communities daily. Right from the start, access to food was the main need expressed by the people. Some tell us that they have gone from eating three meals a day to just one. Their usual diet used to consist of rice and fish, but they are now resorting to eating wheat porridge or edible plants.”
Vaccination is one of global health’s greatest success stories. It’s an effective and affordable tool that saves millions of lives each year.
Vaccination is important for people in all countries, all around the world to prevent and control disease. From nomadic communities in Mali to residents of Australia and New Zealand, the need for vaccines is universal, but access is not. MSF responds with routine and reactive vaccination campaigns in hard-toreach places.
Catching up from the ‘COVID effect’
Interruptions to routine vaccination programs during the pandemic left millions of children with low or zero coverage, making them vulnerable to infectious diseases. More than 67 million children were under- or unvaccinated between 2019 and 2021, with vaccination coverage levels decreasing in 112 countries, UNICEF reported. This was on top of already worryingly low coverage in many of the settings where MSF works.
is a gesture of love’
“There are close to 15 million children worldwide who have received no vaccines at all, socalled zero-dose children. Ten million of these zero-dose children live in fragile humanitarian settings,” says MSF advocacy advisor Victorine de Milliano.
In many countries where MSF operates, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, subsidises the supply of routine childhood vaccines. Gavi generally only covers vaccines for the first two years of a child’s life, meaning that when we resumed the normal vaccination schedule after the pandemic pause, by vaccinating ‘today’s babies’, those born during the COVID years missed out.
To address this gap, MSF and other organisations have advocated for and worked with Gavi to secure fiveyear catch-up supplies temporarily.
In April of 2023, WHO, Gavi, UNICEF and other partners launched the ‘Big Catch-Up’ to boost vaccinations among children who missed out during the pandemic. The Expanded Program of Immunization committed to funding all vaccinations for children under five years in eligible countries for the years 2024-2025.
“We expect this collaborative effort will have a positive impact on catching up children between two and five years old that MSF vaccinates as part of its routine immunisation activities in the next couple of years,” MSF vaccine advisor, John Johnson says.
MSF would now like to see Gavi permanently guarantee access to vaccines for all un- and undervaccinated children under five.
“This would ensure that not only now, but also in the future, no child is turned away from receiving lifesaving vaccinations just because they are one day over two years old,” says de Milliano. “This is especially important for children living in hard-to-reach places, conflict zones or other fragile settings with limited access to vaccination services, and where we’re seeing children over two missing their basic vaccinations.”
That’s why, in 2025, MSF will continue to call on Gavi to ensure catch-up supplies for children up until at least the age of five.
Using new tools
Another big challenge is reaching under- and unvaccinated children, many of whom live in rural and remote places.
“When we look at who is vaccinated and who is not, the under-vaccinated or zero-dose children are ones that are hard to reach. It’s mostly children who live far from health centres who don’t get vaccinated, even in the mass campaigns,” Johnson says.
“Because vaccines have to be kept cold, you have a limited window of time to use them once out of a refrigerated cold chain. So, we’re using some new tools. One is a new vaccine carrier called Indigo, which keeps doses at four degrees without using ice,” he says. “It becomes effective fast and keeps cold for five days. With the Indigo, teams can get to very hard-to-reach areas even if it takes them several days to get there.”
Read more about the Indigo vaccine carrier on page 9.
Immunisation currently prevents 3.5 to 5 million deaths a year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles (WHO).
MSF PROVIDED IN 2023 (MOST RECENT FIGURES AVAILABLE):
4.6 million routine vaccinations for all ages and all antigens (3.9 million or 86% of doses were for children under 5 years)
This represents a massive increase (45%) in routine vaccination in 2023 compared to 2022, as a direct result of a call to increase all immunisation activities across MSF operations after the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic
1.3 million doses through preventive vaccination campaigns
148,000 people treated for measles
3.3 million vaccinations in response to outbreaks
Herd immunity is the indirect protection that a community gets when a large enough proportion of people have immunity (such as through vaccination) to an infectious disease.
When no one is immunised, infectious disease spreads easily.
When some people are immunised, disease spreads, and only those who are immunised are protected.
Responding to outbreaks with innovation
MSF has been conducting vaccination campaigns in Old Fangak, South Sudan, in response to outbreaks of hepatitis E (HEV) since 2023.
HEV is a viral infection affecting the liver, mainly passed through contaminated water. It can affect anyone, but it is particularly severe for pregnant women especially in the second or third trimester, potentially causing acute liver failure, stillbirth and death in one in four women. Every year there are an estimated 20 million HEV infections worldwide, leading to more than three million symptomatic cases, and around 45,000 deaths (WHO).
Flooding is one of the main logistical challenges teams face when conducting vaccination campaigns in Old Fangak. High water clogs rivers, and long grasses block boats’ engines and conceal routes, making it extremely difficult for teams to navigate. People also move in response to the floods, seeking safe ground or food distributions, so finding them can be tricky, especially when distances between villages are great. Sometimes the only way in is a 12-hour journey by canoe.
“The conditions are very difficult for the team to continue to do this job. The team was built at the beginning of the HEV outbreak in Old Fangak,” says MSF vaccination team leader in Old Fangak, Jasper Adoto. “They have seen how people have lost their lives. They have seen their family members suffer infections. And of course, they feel that they need to do something for humanity. They need to do something for their community… and for themselves. And once we have many people vaccinated, we know that we get much more protected in terms of ‘herd immunity’ [see above]. So, they are happy to continue to do this for the safety of the community in which they live.”
The priority of the campaign was to vaccinate women aged 16 to about 45 years old (childbearing age).
“We saw from the statistics in the hospital that there was a big impact on women who were infected and who were pregnant – they had very poor outcomes. A decision was made to vaccinate the women of childbearing age to make sure that we are reducing the impacts of morbidity and mortality in this age group.”
With high immunisation, disease spread is difficult. Immunised people are less likely to spread disease, and the non-immunised are also protected.
‘Let’s get vaccinated’
“My name is Nyawieka Nhial. I am 20. The hepatitis E vaccine protects and makes people healthy. Even if you’re pregnant, it gives you a healthy delivery during the time of birth. Hepatitis E has killed many people, they are so many.
I found that it is very important for people to be vaccinated if there is a vaccine available. Those people died because there was no medicine for it. If they were vaccinated, they could not die. I will inform them that there is good medicine available for the vaccination. Let’s go there and get vaccinated.
What made people suffer a lot because it was not available. Since it is here, no one should refuse to be vaccinated.”
Contagious Susceptible (not immunised) Immunised
Reaching distant villages with vaccines
Keeping vaccines cold can be challenging in hot climates where people live in remote areas, where there is no refrigeration or access to electricity to make ice, and the only way in is by foot, motorbike – or canoe. This is where MSF’s investment in the innovative cold chain backpack, Indigo, really makes a difference.
“Indigo vaccine carriers are used when the team is going to stay overnight for a good number of days. It has a life span of about five days in the field. This device will keep the vaccines within the recommended temperatures of plus-two to pluseight degrees centigrade,” says Adoto.
For the community, by the community
Community engagement is key to any successful vaccination campaign. “We are in contact with the authorities, with the local leaders. And they play a crucial role in helping us to mobilise communities, because then the people know that they are the family members of this community,” says Adoto.
“Leaders are also part of the vaccination. They are vaccinated, and they also support by informing the communities of our visits to do vaccinations and coordinating with other leaders. And so, this gives the confidence in the community that, yes… it is a means towards improvement of the health situation of all in this community.”
How the Indigo vaccine carrier works
Having a vaccine carrier that remains cold over five days without the need for ice, freezers or dry ice – as used in the traditional blue box known as RCW25 – could help teams reach more people in remote areas.
The system works like a mini portable fridge. Water moves between an absorbent layer surrounding the vaccine chamber and a highly adsorbent ceramic desiccant layer surrounding a cooler. The inner and outer layers are connected by a tube and sealed at low pressure along with an optimised amount of water. The ceramic desiccant draws the water back to the outer ring as vapour. The water draws heat from its surroundings as it evaporates, and this energy moves to the outer layer, continually cooling the vaccine chamber.
A thermostat, permanently set at the ideal point during manufacture, monitors the vaccine chamber and temporarily suspends the cooling process at four degrees by closing the connecting tube. The monitor opens the tube to re-start cooling when the temperature begins to rise. A screen shows the temperature inside the carrier, giving assurance that the vaccines are being stored optimally. This information and geolocation details are also sent to a server to manage any issues in real time.
“A vaccination campaign for seven days, in places very difficult to access by motorbike – that was our challenge.”
“Very quickly any doubts give way to advantages that come to mind,” said Jean Pletinckx when he was part of a team trialling the backpacks in a campaign to vaccinate 70,000 children in response to a measles outbreak in Seke Banza in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Go on a vaccination campaign for seven days, with all vaccines and reagents and set up eight vaccination teams at mobile sites, without ice packs or RCW25, in places very difficult to access by motorbike – that was our challenge.”
The team successfully vaccinated more than the targeted number of children. He said there hadn’t been an innovation like this for 20 years. “I am happy to work with my Congolese colleagues and give vaccinations. It’s a pleasure to see mothers in their best clothes, proud to come and get their children vaccinated.”
Boxes containing hepatitis E vaccines are stored in the MSF cold room in Juba, South Sudan.
The remote Pacific Island nation of Kiribati covers a vast expanse, with 33 atolls and islands spread over 3.5 million square kilometres of ocean. It is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to the impacts of the climate crisis, posing direct and indirect threats to human health.
The country’s remoteness and expanse make providing comprehensive healthcare extremely difficult. There is a chronic shortage of experienced health staff and lack of access to essential medical supplies. MSF’s ongoing presence and partnership with the Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services is helping to address these challenges.
The medical team in Kiribati works in Abaiang, two hours by boat from the capital Tarawa. They screen women of child-bearing age for risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes, and children for diarrhoea and malnutrition, referring them as needed to nearby clinics or the country’s only hospital, Tungaru Central Hospital, located on the main island.
Tebunginako village in Abaiang was abandoned by residents as intruding saltwater caused land erosion and the loss of freshwater sources. In the background the narrow atoll barely separates the lagoon and the open ocean.
Teretia, aged 94 in this photo, grew up in Tebunginako. When her village disappeared under a rising tide about 20 years ago, she moved to the capital, Tarawa. Her whole community lost their land and homes. “We used to play on the beach as children. Now it’s gone,” she says. “Many lands are disappearing.” (Joanne Lillie/MSF)
At the main health centre in Abaiang, open-air maneaba built from coconut tree material shelter patients from the heat. MSF pharmacist Jasmine and local Abaiang nurses undergo medical waste management training, to protect the limited fresh water on the island.
MSF pharmacist Jasmine Vicentillo (left) works with nursing staff in a health clinic in Abaiang to optimise inventory management practices. Pharmaceutical logistics are a challenge in the outer islands of Kiribati, with long travel distances, tropical heat, limited electricity and lack of waste management facilities.
MSF midwife Esther Karume (right) teaches local community members in Abaiang how to test for high blood pressure so people can seek treatment. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are common. At least two-thirds of the diabetes identified is poorly controlled.
In the abandoned Tebunginako village, high-tide seawater has eroded the land, meaning that traditional food sources such as the root crop te babai, or giant swamp taro, are no longer able to grow due to high salinity levels in the soil and water.
‘Everyone has felt the bitterness of loss in Sudan’s war’
As I write to you, more than 700,000 people from Sudan have sought refuge in Chad – just like me and my family.
My name is Aisha B. More than a year ago, I fled across the border with my brother and mother. Most of us were able to take only the bare necessities: clothes, maybe a photograph, some cash.
The journey was a nightmare. We saw villages burned to the ground, heard gunfire, hid from armed men and passed through countless checkpoints. We travelled most of the 30 kilometres on foot, enduring the intense heat and constant fear of being attacked or being stopped.
At the transit camp near the town of Adré, there was almost nothing, just a few tents and a vast, dusty plain dotted with shrubs. Little by little, latrines and water stations were constructed, and aid organisations began supporting us with food distribution. But as you can imagine, life is hard when so many people suddenly arrive in one place and depend entirely on humanitarian aid.
Adré’s population has increased more than sixfold since the war started in Sudan. Many of the refugees were exhausted and ill, and some were seriously injured. MSF set up a clinic in the transit camp and it was there that I came to know MSF teams.
Who am I in this chaos?
I am 28 years old, from El-Geneina, West Darfur. After completing my studies in sociology and urban development, I worked for an NGO for several years. The war changed everything. Now, I am with MSF. My job as a health promoter involves sharing health education and information about services available in Adré transit camp.
Every morning, patients are waiting in front of our clinic. I ask them about their complaints and guide them to the appropriate wards. There are many languages spoken here, and I work as a link between the medical teams and the patients.
After the first group of patients has been treated, I move to the ward for acutely malnourished children. I speak with their relatives, usually mothers, about how the therapy works and how they can best care for their children. Sometimes, just being there to listen helps. Every person has their own story. Everyone has felt the bitterness of loss in Sudan’s war – including me. We have all experienced terrible things and had to leave our homes.
Recently, a woman arrived at the MSF clinic with her baby. The mother had a high fever and lost consciousness shortly after her arrival. We urgently needed to notify her family.
While our doctor cared for Manahil, I managed to reach her husband. He came as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, a colleague and I took care of five-month-old Sabah, who was fortunately doing well.
Manahil had malaria and severe dehydration. She was given intravenous fluids and malaria medication. Within 20 minutes, she regained consciousness, though she was still very weak and dazed. Her husband held her hand and cared for Sabah.
Thankfully, the treatment worked. By evening, Manahil was stable enough to be discharged
Why is no one helping?
This is just one of many families I engage with daily. Many don’t yet have a tent or proper shelter. These living conditions break my heart.
International aid is adapting far too slowly for the large influx of people. Food rations are insufficient. Many children are acutely malnourished.
The situation in Sudan is even worse. It feels like a stab in the heart whenever I hear news from home and think of my friends and relatives still there. Around 25 million people in Sudan are experiencing crisis levels of hunger—half the country’s population.
Fewer wounded people are now arriving in Adré due to the shifting front lines, but the fighting continues. While I constantly worry about my relatives still in Sudan, I have no other option but to focus on my work here. My job provides an income that supports my family, but more than that, it allows me to help others. These are difficult times for us. But we refugees are like one big family, giving each other strength.
I don’t know who will read my words or where. However, I send you my warmest greetings from Chad – and from my heart, also from Sudan.
The little op shop making a big impact: The Red Geranium
Location: Adelaide (Kaurna land)
In 2008, Val Maslen, a retired nurse in Adelaide, was helping to run a charity op shop when she thought to start one herself. She would name it the Red Geranium, for the flower which always survived in the share-farmer’s cottages she had grown up in.
Val searched for months before landing a space in the Adelaide suburb of Cumberland Park. From the start, the policy was to have no wage costs, running costs paid and profits sent monthly to MSF.
Seventeen years later, the Red Geranium has survived indeed. This year it hit a major milestone – raising $1 million for MSF. Judy Rogers served as manager for over 12 years, and when Judy retired, a group of three women – Sandra Westbrook, Silke Danner and Christine Robinson – took over.
Christine’s husband Keith, an accountant, got the shop registered as a not-for-profit. “It means we can continue donating to MSF for years to come,” Val says.
Now a youthful 88, Val confesses a longtime passion for MSF.
“I just think what they do is amazing. A lot of the people who bring stuff in are quite passionate about it,” Val says.
And what about customers coming into the shop? “Some know about MSF. Some you have to educate a bit,” she says with a laugh.
To learn more about community fundraising, please visit msf.org.au/get-involved or contact our team at community@sydney.msf.org
(L-R) Christine Robinson, Sandra Westbrook, Val Maslen and Silke Danner from the Red Geranium (photo: supplied)
Their unwavering commitment to providing medical care to populations in crisis, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation. It’s inspiring to be part of an organisation that prioritises humanitarian principles and aims to alleviate suffering in some of the most challenging environments.
Being able to witness the impact of our work on individuals and communities reinforces my dedication. Each day is a new challenge that keeps me engaged and reminds me of the importance of compassion and service in healthcare-related activities.
Why do you feel strongly about sharing what you’re witnessing in Sudan?
The images and stories emerging from the conflict highlight the circumstances faced by countless individuals. There is widespread displacement, ethnic violence and sexual violence, malnutrition, and a breakdown of essential services, including a totally disrupted healthcare system. People are living in fear – are they next to be bombed? Will it be their family to die next or lose their home?
I feel strongly about sharing what I see because it not only gives a voice to those who are suffering but also serves to inform and rally people and organisations worldwide to take action – we can hold governments accountable, encourage support for humanitarian efforts, and advocate for a peaceful resolution to the violence.
“There is not a building in the hospital not affected by the bombing and the war.”
Sudan. (Photo: supplied)
You’ve been at Nyala Teaching Hospital for several months. What are you seeing? We are seeing air strikes almost every night. My first experience with an air strike was within a few days here. I literally thought we were going to die and sent “I love you” messages to my family. We had quite a few, then they stopped for six weeks, and since then have increased.
Every time we sit in the safe room and hear the woosh, you wait for the impact. You just know the following morning the damage you are going to be confronted by. I spend every day thinking I’m going to go to work and one of my colleagues will have been killed. I hear stories from my staff how they sleep under their beds, are too scared to sleep, who have children and have to manage their fear as well. People are starting to leave Nyala.
Kaylene Tomkins at Nyala Teaching Hospital in South Darfur,
Are you seeing large numbers of people displaced? Yes, displaced and then further displaced by the bombing. We are also seeing more people moving to rural areas, increasing their risk of sexual and genderbased violence, and some decreases in the food distribution collection as people are moving away.
How is the hospital functioning? Do you have the supplies you need? The staff?
There is not a building in the hospital not affected by the bombing and the war. We are slowly trying to rehabilitate the hospital to increase access to healthcare. We are currently providing free access to maternity, paediatrics, sexual and gender-based violence care and emergency care.
The gaps in Nyala are in mental healthcare, chronic disease management, paediatric surgery, specialist services, nutritional services, palliative care, children with congenital defects, protection services, adult inpatient department, TB, HIV, orthopaedic care, and intensive care units, including for neonates and paediatrics.
Supplies have been ruptured in most items. We lack equipment to do basic services such as radiology and are very limited in what diagnostic testing we can do. We are potentially going to lose healthcare workers as they are talking about leaving Sudan.
What are the main medical issues that you’re dealing with?
We are dealing with everything – trauma, acute and chronic conditions, malnutrition, sickle cell disease, infectious diseases like measles and whooping cough, severe malaria, congenital disorders, chronic kidney disease, gunshot injuries, amputations, burns, blunt trauma, mass casualty scenarios, neonatal and maternal sepsis leading to mortality.
I see so many deaths that could be prevented with the right access to services. It breaks my heart.
What do you want Australians to know about what’s happening in Sudan?
I want people to know that these are people just like them, and not statistics. The international community needs to step up and listen and advocate for an end to the war.
Nursing with MSF
The main role of an MSF nurse manager is to define, coordinate and monitor all care and nursing-related activities in the project, requiring daily HR management to ensure the efficiency, quality and continuity of prescribed care.
RECRUITMENT WEBINAR
Recruiting mental health professionals
The communities we support are disproportionately impacted by mental health disorders. We therefore need highly skilled mental health professionals to provide care for our patients. Watch our recent webinar to find out more about the role of psychological healthcare in our humanitarian projects, and the skills and experience we look for in mental health professionals.
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Vous êtes chirurgien ou anesthésiste francophone ?
We are recruiting surgeons and anaesthetists with French language skills.
Interested? Please apply at msf.org.au/join-our-team
ON ASSIGNMENT
Vaccination teams, health promoters and community relays work to raise awareness and get communities involved in the measles vaccination campaign in the
Staff from Australia and New Zealand currently on assignment with MSF.
This list of project staff comprises only those recruited by MSF Australia. We also wish to recognise other Australians and New Zealanders who have contributed to MSF programs worldwide but are not listed because they joined the organisation overseas.
Afghanistan
Deputy medical coordinator QLD, AU
Doctor/anaesthetist VIC, AU
Nursing activity manager VIC, AU
Bangladesh
Infection prevention and control manager VIC, AU
Paediatrician NSW, AU
Central African Republic
Surgeon SA, AU
Chad
Project finance/HR manager NZ
Democratic Republic of Congo
Epidemiology activity manager QLD, AU
Medical doctor NSW, AU
Ethiopia
Deputy head of mission NSW, AU
Greece
Midwife QLD, AU
Haiti
Humanitarian affairs manager ACT, AU
Medical coordinator NSW, AU
Iraq
Midwife supervisor SA, AU
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Kazakhstan
Mental health activity manager VIC, AU
Kenya
Medical doctor VIC, AU
Project finance/HR manager NZ
Kiribati
Head of mission ACT, AU
Logistics manager VIC, AU
Medical coordinator SA, AU
Nursing activity manager NT, AU
Lebanon
Doctor/anaesthetist QLD, AU
Project coordinator NSW, AU
Libya
Head of mission VIC, AU
Project coordinator NZ
Protection activity manager QLD, AU
Malawi
Obstetrician/gynaecologist NSW, AU
Mozambique
Project medical referent NSW, AU
Myanmar
Epidemiology activity manager NSW, AU
Nigeria
Doctor/anaesthetist SA, AU
Head of mission NSW, AU
Nursing activity manager NT, AU
Pakistan
Logistics manager VIC, AU
Nursing activity manager NSW, AU
Palestine
Finance and HR coordinator VIC, AU
Midwife activity manager NZ
Medical activity manager TAS, AU
Nursing activity manager NZ
Nursing activity manager QLD, AU
Papua New Guinea
Mental health activity manager TAS, AU
Project coordinator QLD, AU
South Africa
Surgeon NSW, AU
South Sudan
Doctor/anaesthetist VIC, AU
HR coordinator NZ
Intersectional legal advisor VIC, AU
Midwife activity manager QLD, AU
Nursing activity manager NSW, AU
Nursing activity manager NZ
Nursing activity manager VIC, AU
Sudan
Deputy head of mission NSW, AU
Deputy medical coordinator QLD, AU
Doctor/anaesthetist NSW, AU Energy manager QLD, AU
