Everyday Emergency

Right now, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams are working to provide life-saving care in crises around the world. But what about the lives that can’t be saved? Ciara Flood is an MSF nurse with a special interest in palliative care. She joins us today to talk about reducing suffering, crossing cultures, and putting patients first.To find out more about MSF or to make a donation, please visit msf.org.uk---Presented by Amber DowellEdited by Sandy McKeeAssociate producer: Kate LeeSeries producer: Mark LankesterPhoto: Victor Oriema, MSF supported MOH palliative care nurse checks the vitals of Monica Anyango Onduko, a patient in palliative care during a home-based care visit. MSF and MoH teams in Homa Bay currently manage 39 patients in home-based palliative care.Copyright: Lucy Makori/MSF  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every May in London, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hosts Scientific Days, an annual innovation conference.The event brings together medical and humanitarian experts from around the world to share the research they have been doing into the conditions and crises that they face every day.In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we spoke to three specialists about their research and how it could help patients.From a game-changing antivenom to new tools in malaria prevention and the science of documenting traumatic injuries in Gaza, this is a behind-the-scenes look at life-saving innovation.Speakers:Matt ColdironAlan de Lima PereiraJenna HoytSohaib SafiPresented by Amber DowellEdited by Sandy McKeeAssociate producer: Kate LeeSeries producer: Mark LankesterPhoto: Toks Adeola Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April marked a sobering milestone: the three-year anniversary of the ongoing war in Sudan. The scale of the crisis has become enormous, with 33 million people now in need of humanitarian aid – more than the entire population of Australia.  From the very first moments of the crisis, MSF teams have been responding, from running clinics in displacement camps to providing emergency surgery for people caught in the crossfire.  Today, we’re joined by Dr Oliver Yerby, an emergency medicine specialist who has recently returned from an MSF assignment in Darfur, a region which has seen some of the worst consequences of the war. ---Presented by Amber DowellEdited by Sandy McKeeAssociate producer: Kate LeeSeries producer: Mark LankesterPhoto: Cindy Gonzalez/MSF - Mustafa Omer Idriss, Sudanese doctor and MSF Medical Activities Manager, examines a child in Tawila Hospital.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past weeks, the world’s media has been focused on the crisis in the Middle East. The sharp escalation in violence has brought fear to the lives of millions of people. Airstrikes have hit densely populated areas with particular ferocity in Iran and in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams across the region have been adapting their programmes to respond to the crisis.However, behind the headlines, on the other side of the Greater Middle East Region, a long-term humanitarian crisis continues to play out in Afghanistan.For this month’s podcast, we spoke to Dr Mohammad Qaher Poya, the deputy nursing director at MSF's specialist trauma centre in Kunduz, a city in northern Afghanistan. The trauma centre was originally set up to meet the needs of people injured during the war in Afghanistan. Now, in this post-conflict environment, the team uses their long experience of dealing with what's known as 'mass casualty incidents' to save lives when the sheer number of patients threatens to overwhelm the hospital.Dr Poya took a break between busy shifts to call us from Afghanistan.If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you.Presented by Amber DowellEdited by Sandy McKeeAssociate producer: Kate LeeSeries producer: Mark LankesterPhoto: Tasal Khogyani  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last year in Gaza, MSF assisted in one in three births, supported one in five hospital beds, and provided 800,000 medical consultations. This year, however, our teams have faced the prospect that our operations in the Strip could be forced to close.In this episode, we talk to nursing activity manager Steve Davidson and field communications officer Nour Alsaqqa: two people with firsthand knowledge of MSF’s work in Gaza, the life-saving impact it’s having, and what would be lost if it couldn’t continue. Presented by Amber DowellEdited by Sandy McKeeAssociate producer: Kate LeeSeries producer: Mark LankesterPhoto: Motassem Abu Aser Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Northern Nigeria, the conflict between government forces and armed groups is hitting communities hard. Vast numbers have been forced to flee, grabbing what they can, leaving behind their homes and livelihoods.Amid the fear, kidnapping and violence, another crisis is unfolding: the number of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth is among the highest in the world, with one woman dying of these complications every seven minutes according to figures from the UN.In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we're joined by Hauwa Tanko Audu, a health promotion supervisor, who tells us how the MSF team in the city of Maiduguri are working to ensure women and newborns have access to life-saving care.Presented by Amber DowellEdited by Sandy McKeeAssociate producer: Kate LeeSeries producer: Mark LankesterPhoto: Eugene Osidiana / MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this special episode of Everyday Emergency, we’re taking a look back at MSF’s work over the last 12 months.This year, MSF teams were on the ground during some of the world's biggest crises. We provided essential medical care as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine continued, violence escalated in Sudan, and millions of people across the globe were caught up in crises that didn’t always make the headlines - from deadly disease outbreaks and natural disasters, to growing malnutrition.If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you.Presented by Amber DowellSound production and editing by Sandy McKeeWritten and produced by Kate LeeSeries production by Mark LankesterPhoto: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In almost any humanitarian crisis – from disease outbreaks to conflict zones – children are among the most vulnerable. Last year alone, almost half of all patients admitted to MSF hospitals around the world were children under the age of five. But, while access to medical care is absolutely essential, for our youngest patients, there is something else that improves their health, promotes recovery and helps them develop: play. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we speak to Katherine Haciömeroğlu. She is a child life specialist who has been working with MSF teams around the world to harness the power of play and help children living through healthcare crises to access the benefits of this perhaps unexpected humanitarian work. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The artist and political cartoonist Ella Baron has recently returned from Ukraine, where she worked with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) patients to create a series of drawings and interviews about their experiences. The patients ranged from young men injured in drone attacks to grandmothers who have lost their homes and loved ones. The images go beyond simple portraits to explore the physical and emotional impact of the war. With the works now on display in a public exhibition at Kings College in London, Ella joins us for a special episode. Ella was in Ukraine on assignment for the Guardian, where her drawings were originally published. MSF teams were already working in Ukraine at the time of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Since then we have expanded our operations to cover mobile clinics, surgery, and mental health support. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you.Presented by Amber DowellSound production and editing by Sandy McKee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In February 2022, Yuliia Trofimova was a journalist living in Eastern Ukraine, where she’s from. With the violent escalation of the conflict with Russia, Yuliia and her colleagues in local media became war correspondents overnight.Today, Yuliia works as a field communications officer for MSF, travelling throughout the region to raise awareness of the health impacts of the war and the work of MSF’s medical, surgical and mental health teams as they provide essential care to people caught in the conflict.On this episode of Everyday Emergency, hear Yuliia share what it's like to bear witness to the war's impact on people's health, and its impact on her.If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you.Presented by Amber DowellSound production and editing by Sandy McKee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

War has taken a heavy toll on the people of Syria. Since 2011, 14 million Syrians have had to flee the violence that wracked the country. They left behind their homes and livelihoods. Essential infrastructure has been destroyed, and many Syrians have been plunged into poverty, with very limited access to essential services like medical care. But late last year, the situation shifted, and MSF teams were able to travel to areas that had previously been inaccessible. Dr Ryan McHenry is an emergency medicine doctor who recently returned from the Syria. He joins us today to share his experiences in a country emerging from the shadows of war. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a crisis hits, our emergency specialists - known as the E-Team - launch into life-saving action to coordinate the response. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we speak to Dr Natalie Roberts. Now Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK, she is an experienced emergency doctor and former Head of Emergencies with our Paris-based 'Emergency Desk'. We speak to her about the work of the E-Team, how they react to emerging conflicts and disasters, and reflect on the humanitarian events she worked through, including typhoons and civil wars. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In places where MSF operates, getting access to the right antibiotics is a matter of life or death - but what happens when they stop working? In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we find out about antimicrobial resistance (AMR).Antibiotics are the cornerstone of modern medicine, treating a vast range of infections. But, over the last few years we've been seeing a troubling phenomenon where the standard antibiotics used to treat some diseases have simply stopped working.This is known as AMR, which is when some of the bugs which cause disease mutate and find ways to avoid the effective elements of antibiotic medicines.What can be done when this happens and what steps is MSF taking to tackle AMR more broadly? We speak to AMR expert Mohamad Khalife.Presented by Laura McCullough Edited by Kate Lee and Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode of Everyday Emergency, we’re looking at the humanitarian crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC – a huge country in Central Africa that’s home to around one hundred and eleven million people. The northeast of the country has endured decades of insecurity since the fallout of the 1994 genocide in the neighbouring country of Rwanda. Driven by ethnic tensions and a fight for resources, the conflict involves more than one hundred armed groups, such as the widely-known M23, as well as Congolese government forces and UN peacekeepers. The most recent phase of the conflict has been rapidly evolving, and intensified since December 2024. It has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and resulted in many casualties and violent injuries across the provinces of North and South Kivu. Tragically, MSF staff members have also lost their lives. To learn more about what’s been happening, and how MSF has responded, we spoke to Juliette Seguin, MSF’s Emergency Coordinator in Goma, DRC's capital city in the east of the country. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Kate Lee Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years ago, MSF doctor Javid Abdelmoneim received a cryptic message from his cousin in Khartoum that said "Your dad is safe". But safe from what? On 15 April 2023, a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. From early attacks around the capital Khartoum, the fighting quickly escalated and spread to other parts of Sudan. Almost overnight, millions of people found themselves trapped in a conflict. Now, two years on, the situation is both shocking and complex. Sudan has become the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 12 million people forced from their homes. Many are without access to essential healthcare, and there have been widespread outbreaks of diseases like cholera and measles. Meanwhile, the number of people suffering from malnutrition, or women and children dying is truly alarming. Throughout all of this, people – civilians – have been subjected to horrific violence. The United Nations recently described this situation in Sudan as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we speak to Dr Javid Abdelmoneim who recently returned from an assignment in the crisis-hit country. He is an emergency medicine specialist, and an extremely experienced MSF doctor who also spent the first eight years of his life growing up in Sudan. His story is deeply personal, at times upsetting, but incredibly powerful. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Cece Leadon Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In crisis zones across the world, hospitals have been attacked, supply trucks blockaded and funding cut. So, what is the state of humanitarian aid today? In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we’re speaking to Chris Lockyear – the Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF). He’s one of the leading voices in MSF, and an expert on humanitarian aid and the crises we currently face. We sat down with Chris after a recent visit to Sudan, where MSF teams are operating in what has been dubbed a ‘humanitarian void’ despite more than 11 million people being forced from their homes by the civil war. We also spoke about the situation in Gaza following the desperately needed ceasefire, and about the dangerous and far-reaching consequences of the aid cuts recently announced by governments including the UK and USA. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Nick Owen Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a groundbreaking hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman, a dedicated team from Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) work to treat and rehabilitate war-wounded people from conflict zones across the Middle East and North Africa. Rula Marafeh, an experienced physiotherapist, shares her story from a unique project that has been saving and transforming lives since 2006. In places such as Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and Syria, as violence pushes healthcare systems to breaking point, MSF works to evacuate patients in need of the most specialist care. Once in Amman, a spectrum of expert teams work to surgically reconstruct limbs, treat aggressive infections, teach patients to use their new bodies, and crucially, heal the unseen trauma each new arrival carries with them. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF/Peter Bräunig Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2002, the threat to MSF becomes a reality and another Coordinator, a Dutch national, is kidnapped in Dagestan. The organisation is once again faced with the dilemma whether it should speak out in the media about the kidnapping or not. MSF opts to keep quiet at first, but as the weeks turn into months and the MSF Coordinator is still not released, MSF starts questioning whether it should take active steps to secure the hostage’s release by publicly pointing out a government’s responsibilities, negligence, or even complicity when a kidnapping occurs on its soil, or should it not enter into these conversations to avoid the potential for a government to dig in its heels? Tensions are running high, especially between MSF, the Dutch authorities and the family of the hostage, and some feel the structures within the organisation are not helping the situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The situation in the North Caucasus is getting more and more violent as the Russian federal authorities is trying to forcibly repatriate Chechen refugees and force humanitarian organisations out of Ingushetia. When colleagues at other organisations are kidnapped in Chechnya, MSF closes down all operations in the country again. With a diminishing international presence in the warzone, MSF is once again faced with dilemmas - should it continue to speak out about human rights abuses its staff haven't witnessed? How can they help those in need in the region? And how long will it be before one of their own staff is once again held hostage? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MSF’s operations have been closed down in Chechnya in response to the MSF Coordinator’s kidnapping. After his release, three weeks later, MSF tries to restart its operations in Chechnya but there are delays due to security issues, and for now, the only programmes in the country are run through remote control management from Dagestan, on Chechnya eastern border. Most of MSF’s Caucasus staff are behind the return and support MSF speaking out in the media. Meanwhile and in a statement after the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington, Vladimir Putin links Russian military operations in Chechnya with the anti-terrorist combat launched by the American government. These events completely change the landscape for western tolerance towards Russia.IMAGE: © Olivier Jobard/MYOP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kidnappings are becoming more commonplace in Chechnya and closer to home for MSF as various staff members are held for questioning. Then, a key member of the team in the North Caucasus is taken hostage and questions are asked as to whether there's a causal link between MSF’s decision to speak out in the media and the kidnapping? Other difficult questions are raised: should the organisation speak out in the media to create visibility and hopefully bring their colleague some much-needed protection? Or should MSF be as discreet as possible to avoid a rise in the hostage’s so-called ‘market value’? And is it a good idea to take active steps to secure the hostage’s release, such as publicly pointing out a government’s responsibilities, negligence, or even complicity? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MSF’s operations in Chechnya are slowly starting back up again after 3 years of being run remotely. Although the bombing stops, general insecurity is pervasive and restarting these programmes is not without risks.With an international team back on the ground in Chechnya, everyone agrees on the need to document the situation more thoroughly. A collection of patients’ accounts in the report “Chechnya: The politics of terror” is handed over at a press conference. The various MSF sections agree on a coordinated media strategy for getting news out of Chechnya and into the press, in particular the Russian media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throughout the year 2000, MSF seizes every opportunity to raise the alarm on the Chechen’s fate with governments and institutions around the world, but to little concrete effect other than general condemnation. With still no international staff in the country, MSF sections resort to so-called ‘remote control’ management, using locally hired employees to deliver aid on the ground. Concerns over the organisation’s legitimacy in speaking out remain and soon one of the sections starts making unauthorised and dangerous trips over the border into Chechnya from Dagestan where they ran distributions of basic care items. Under attack in the Russian media, MSF wonders whether it should ignore or address the accusations of espionage regularly thrown at the organization? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With hostilities in Chechnya flaring up again in what the Russian Federation terms as “anti-terrorist operations”, MSF leaders decide to use the ceremony of the reception of Nobel Peace Prize to call on the international community to intervene. But MSF teams are struggling to work in a Chechnya facing all-out war and dangerous security problems. Instead, MSF starts support refugees in the neighbouring republics where they collect first-hands accounts. Inside Chechnya, operations are run through staff members from the Caucasus who are trained, supported, and managed from afar by international teams in the region. MSF is in a difficult situation that raises many questions: Should MSF be speaking out based on refugees’ testimonies if there are no operational activities with international staff permanently on the ground sin Chechnya? When dealing with a regime in denial of the realities of a war, why is it important to use the word ‘war’? Is it up to MSF to call for this qualification? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the Russian Federation President, Boris Yeltsin talks publicly about a peace plan, his forces carry out a ruthless bombing campaign on rebel-held villages in southern Chechnya. MSF sections are united in wanting to speak out about what their staff witnessed before being forced out of the region, but there’s vigorous debate on how best to draw attention to the atrocities. What is the best way to bring the world’s attention to the plight of the Chechen population? MSF national staff are still working on the ground in southern Chechnya, so will speaking out put their lives in even more danger? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first war of independence of Chechnya with the Russian Federation starts in 1994 and runs for two years. In 1999, while the country and its people are still struggling to recover, the Russian authorities start bombing Chechnya again. Through these tough years in the North Caucasus and when access is repeatedly blocked by the Russian forces, MSF staff continues to try to provide food and medical aid to people inside Chechnya and to Chechen refugees in the surrounding republics. From the start of the first war, MSF feeds the press with information on the rapidly deteriorating conditions and the Russian’s refusal to let them into many areas of the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Warning: This episode contains testimony related to child deaths that some listeners may find distressing.A new report by MSF lays bare the cruelty of the long-term detainment of more than 50,000 people, the majority of whom are children, in Al-Hol, northeast Syria.The camp was once designed to provide safe, temporary accommodation and humanitarian services to civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria and Iraq. But the nature and purpose of the camp has long deviated and grown increasingly into an unsafe and unsanitary open-air prison after people were moved there from Islamic State group controlled territories in December 2018.Visit https://msf.org.uk/alhol to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From mid-1997, MSF teams try to work together again. The organisation publishes retrospective studies that trace the odyssey of the Rwandan refugees through the Zairean jungle and contributes testimony to international investigations on human rights violations in the region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In May 1997, MSF published a new study describing the movements of refugees in the Great Lakes region of Africa and the fate of refugees. MSF planned to distribute the report to a small group of journalists, asking them not to cite MSF as the source of the information. However, a lack of communication between MSF offices and with the teams in the field, exacerbates tensions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MSF's exploratory mission teams complete their reports on their Masisi and Shabunda visits. Details of mass graves, massacres, and the fact that the ADFL used humanitarian teams as bait to lure refugees out of the forests, sent shock waves through MSF offices. A debate about the use of the information collected ensued: should it be made public or not? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ADFL takes control of all of the Kivu province and refugees continue to flee their rapid advance eastwards through the forest. MSF struggles to maintain access to the refugees amidst the violence, restrictions, and threats to team safety, while receiving continued reports about refugee massacres. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finally allowed into South Kivu, a province in eastern Zaire, the MSF teams discover that refugees are being massacred by the ADFL and its allies, particularly in the Massisi and the Shabunda regions. MSF realises that MSF teams are used as bait by the ADFL to lure the refugees out of the forests and kill them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 1996, the offensive led by the ADFL and Rwandan forces empties the camps in eastern Zaire of their population. Some refugees were repatriated to Rwanda and others fled into the neighboring forest. MSF denounces the repatriation conditions and is reproached by the press for "catastrophic" forecasts made a few weeks earlier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the instability of the region increases, MSF and other humanitarian organisations are eventually forced out of eastern Zaire entirely. MSF suspects that thousands of refugees are suffering and at risk of dying. The organisation decides to launch an appeal for an armed international intervention and communicates about the plight of the population, predicting a health catastrophe, if access for aid agencies is not provided. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1996, MSF attempts to alert the international community about the resurgence of conflict in eastern Zaire, as witnessed by teams on the ground. The perpetrators of the Rwandan Tutsi genocide, living in refugee camps, threaten and attack the Zairean civilian population. The same perpetrators are holding Rwandan refugees that fled the 1994 genocide, hostage within the camps. The new Rwandan regime and its Zairian ally, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL), launches counter attacks on the refugee camps. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we'll listen in on a discussion about COP26, why MSF was a part of it, and what the MSF delegates attending the summit learned from their participation. The discussion is hosted by Dr Christos Christou, MSF's international president, and took place as a Twitter Spaces conversation on Friday 19 November 2021. Christos chats with Dr Maria Guevara, MSF's international medical secretary, and Stephen Cornish, General Director of MSF Switzerland, both of whom attended COP26 as MSF observational delegates this year.Episode photo © Frederic Noy/COSMOS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 9 July 2021, the Republic of South Sudan marked its 10th birthday. This significant milestone is also marred by the bloody legacy of its first decade, including a five-year civil war.At independence, South Sudan was grappling with at least 30 humanitarian emergencies. Parts of the country were engulfed in increasingly fierce intercommunal clashes, and there was renewed conflict in border areas with Sudan. Despite the challenges, the first years in the post-independence period were a time of anticipation and optimism and, for most of the country, it was a period of relative peace.However, by December 2013 – less than two years after independence – the country had rapidly imploded into civil war, quickly exposing the fragility of the emerging young state.In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we’ll be hearing the personal stories of four of our South Sudanese staff – all of whom now work in a displacement camp near the town of Bentiu. We hear about the impact of the conflict on their lives over the last 10 years, and what brought them to the country's largest camp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 100 years since the discovery of insulin, the life-saving drug for people living with diabetes.But today, more than half of those who need this marvellous medicine still can’t access it – either because it’s too expensive or unavailable. This means millions of people are risking serious complications and even death.In this episode of Everyday Emergency, Amber Dowell reports on the challenges facing those diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes living through crises such as conflict, displacement or disaster.We hear from Farah Haris, who was working to treat diabetic patients in the fallout of last year’s devastating Beirut explosion. We also speak to chronic disease expert Amulya Reddy on how MSF is finding innovative new ways to help patients and challenge the three “Big Pharma” corporations controlling the insulin market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 5: Mechanisms and expectationsDuration: 48 minsJustice is slow to come and still many of the nations involved are not taking responsibility for their country’s actions in the enclave. After a year of targeting the Dutch, the focus moves to France. With accusations of covert meetings and secret deals to free French hostages, MSF France puts pressure on the French parliamentarians to investigate the nation’s role in the fall of Srebrenica. But is it really the role of a humanitarian medical organisation to issue an appeal for an investigative parliamentary commission? And if so, how much should the organisation direct proceedings? Also and as time passes, it gives those in MSF space to reconsider the organisation’s own actions during the fall.Image: © MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 4: Peace agreement vs justiceDuration: 37 minsFollowing the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995, 40,000 people are scattered around eastern Bosnia. Thousands are in a refugee camp around Tuzla airport, but thousands are also still missing, or dead including the 8,000 men and boys over the age of 16 massacred by Bosnian Serb forces.As July 1995 goes down in history as one of the deadliest months of the Bosnian War, the focus shifts to the international community. Pressure is mounting on the international actors involved in the Bosnian war…in particular on the Dutch whose Blue Helmet peacekeepers also known as Dutchbats were stationed inside Srebrenica during the fall.But where does the responsibility lie for the inaction? And what can MSF do to make sure that peace does not take precedence over justice?And while the investigations and tribunals on Srebrenica begin, how can the international community make sure that the events of July 1995, are not repeated in one of the other Muslim enclaves in the region?Image: © Hans Ullens/MSF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 3: The fall of Srebrenica Duration: 40 minsJuly 1995 - the fall of Srebrenica is one of the toughest chapters of the Bosnian war. It only took 10 days for the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica to fall. The two MSF staff stationed there at the time witnessed the Bosnian Serb force’s attack. Around 8,000 men and boys over the age of 16 were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces in the enclave. But how does this happen with hundreds of UN peacekeeper in a so-called ‘safe zone’? Having trusted the UN Protection Force’s commitment to protect the enclave and its population, must MSF accept partial culpability for or complicity in the UN’s abandonment of the enclave and the ensuing massacre of the population? Didn’t MSF give the population the false impression that it would be safe as long as the team was present? And what mechanisms did MSF put in place so that they could speak out over the UN’s inability to protect the people of Srebrenica?Image: © Olivier Jobard/MYOP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 2: Prison doctorsDuration: 37 minsMSF has been working in the enclave for over 2 years now and has repeatedly informed the media about the difficulties it’s been having trying to get supplies, medicine, and even volunteers inside facing the haggling by the Bosnian Serbs. MSF is still the only source of medical care in the enclave, but its job is being made harder and harder as the violence worsens and the living conditions deteriorate. The organisation starts to question its role there and wonder if it’s contributing to the Bosnian Serbs’ strategy, acting like prison doctors?And as the Bosnian-Serb authorities tighten their grip on Srebrenica, MSF is faced with another dilemma - would calling for the evacuation of civilians be the equivalent of abetting the Bosnian Serb’s ethnic cleansing policy of driving out all Muslim inhabitants and claiming the land? Even if those same civilians want to leave.Image: © Rip Hopkins Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 1: Entering the enclaveDuration: 27 minsThe Muslim population trapped inside Srebrenica is living under constant shelling since the start of the war in Bosnia in 1992. Even after the UN declared the city a ‘safe area’ in March 1993, not much had changed.The joint French/Belgian MSF unit entered Srebrenica with UNPROFOR leader General Morillon in March 1993. They were the first NGO allowed inside the enclave. There, they witnessed the French General vowing to protect the enclave’s population. The MSF team focused on providing medical care, securing the water supply and sanitation, and preparing the enclave for the upcoming winter. However, they’re starting to question how much protection the UN peacekeepers in the enclave can actually provide.Image: © René Caravielhe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our producer Jess Brown looks into the potentially catastrophic secondary impacts of COVID-19 on the lives and health of women and girls.Sexual and reproductive health services are difficult to access in normal times and the secondary impacts of COVID-19 have made them even more elusiveThis episode includes voices from our projects in Honduras and South Africa, discussing the impacts of losing access to essential sexual and reproductive health services, particularly safe abortion care and contraception care.*Correction: Since publication it's been established that some ambulance services are running in proximity to our Honduras project. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Yemen’s a hopeless war? And what should be done when we can “only” care for people we know nothing about? In this last episode of “Inside Yemen”, Natalie takes you back to the north of the country, into the caves that serve as shelters for families when the bombs rain down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A grenade ready to explode, armed militia in a pick-up, Kalashnikovs everywhere. Ghassan and Thierry tell you about the everyday violence in Aden, the southern port where all semblance of normality has been lost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is Ghassan’s turn to take you deep into Yemen to discover the cholera epidemic that broke out across the country in 2016 and 2017, amidst controversy and media manipulation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernard knows Yemen well, especially his operating theatre. Let’s go to the emergency department of an MSF hospital trapped between the frontlines south of Hodeidah and surrounded by mine fields. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 1 of “Inside Yemen”, you are plunged straight into the heart of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. Natalie tells you about her journey to Saada in the mountains in the north of the country. This is Houthi territory - the target of thousands of airstrikes over the last five years. Not far away, Thierry and his expedition are heading for the besieged town of Taiz, through the mountains and at night… to avoid the snipers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of “Inside Yemen”, Agnes and Natalie take you to Mocha on the banks of the Red Sea – a strategic crossroads just two hours from the front line where landmines are wreaking havoc among the civilian population.A tent hospital, the sound of artillery fire and an all-pervading wind: welcome to Yemen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.