Somalia: Funding gaps and barriers to access undermine healthcare for women and children
August 12, 2025When Aisha* began haemorrhaging, experiencing heavy, potentially life-threatening bleeding, just ten days after giving birth to twins at home in Diinsoor district, her family feared the worst. The hospital where she had safely delivered her previous children was no longer...
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World Breastfeeding Week: Nurturing hope amid migration challenges in Latin America
August 4, 2025“I’ve breastfed him throughout the entire migration route,” says María*, a 34-year-old Venezuelan mother traveling with her two children. Their journey began in Peru, where her youngest son was born two years ago, and continued through Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa...
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Syria: Obstacles to maternity care shatter women’s hopes for a safe pregnancy
November 12, 2024The 13-year-long war in Syria, the earthquake in February 2023 and the lack of international support to rebuild healthcare infrastructure have deprived pregnant women and new mothers of their most fundamental right of access to adequate and dignified maternity care,...
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Pakistan: MSF’s mother and child healthcare services in Balochistan – A lifeline for families
October 3, 2024"Eight of my nine children were born here, and my daughter-in-law delivered her five children in this very hospital. It’s part of who we are," says Zarlast, her eyes gleaming with pride as she sits beside her daughter-in-law Zarnasha, both...
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To eat or feed my child? A mother’s dilemma in Yemen
March 21, 2024Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) expresses profound concern over the alarming rise in malnutrition cases among mothers in Yemen over the past two years. The situation reflects the dire humanitarian crisis facing the country, exacerbated by protracted conflict, economic instability, and...
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Afghanistan: MSF’s new project aims to fill critical gaps in the provision of paediatric and neonatal care
December 18, 2023“I really don’t know the pain she’s going through, but I am here with her hoping she gets better soon,” says Farida, the mother of nine-month-old Hadia.For two days, Hadia has refused to eat anything, even her favourite fruit, bananas....
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Helping tackle malnutrition and malaria in Angola
July 10, 2023Malnutrition and malaria are common in remote communities in Angola, especially during peaks of drought and heavy rain. Women and their children are most affected. For the last year, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has collaborated with local health...
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Yemen: Giving birth in the face of persistent obstacles in Taiz
February 2, 2023Nogood Mohammad Ahmed Shamsan was lying under the covers of her bed, exhausted. She rested her left hand on her belly trying to provide comfort while she drew long, slow breaths. Next to Nogood was her mother sitting in a...
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Chad: A new path, Her path
August 10, 2022What would maternal healthcare look like if it was designed by the women who use it? An MSF team in Chad is working to find out... Noor Cornelissen, MSF project coordinator in Chad, shares that in the new MSF pilot...
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Afghanistan: Revolting attack on maternity ward kills pregnant women and babies
May 13, 2020KABUL – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is devastated after yesterday’s sickening attack on pregnant women, mothers and their babies at our maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. While pregnant women and babies, in one of life’s most...
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Iraq: Mosul’s expectant mothers just can’t wait
September 11, 2019It’s 2016 and the battle for Mosul has just begun, with Iraqi forces sweeping through Mosul from the east. Street by street, a city that has been under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group for over two years...
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Pakistan: Witnessing poor mother and child healthcare in Balochistan
June 6, 2019In Pakistan, thousands of women and infants die each year from medical conditions that are easily preventable. In the southwest province of Balochistan, which has some of the worst health statistics in the world, the situation is particularly dire. Médecins...
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