Medecines Sans Frontieres
Médecins Sans Frontières exists to save lives by providing medical aid where it is needed most – in armed conflicts, epidemics, famines and natural disasters. All these situations call for a rapid response with specialised medical and logistical help. Médecins Sans Frontières also run longer-term projects, tackling health crises and supporting people where the need is greatest, wherever they are. They currently have projects running in almost 70 countries.
Their medics carry out more than eight million patient consultations a year and their medical activities run from basic vaccination campaigns to complex surgery.
Their emergency medical work extends to neglected, forgotten diseases and long-term care for chronic conditions. They also advocate for affordable, high-quality medicines for the world's poorest people.
Bunderra Foundation is very proud to have contributed a significant donation towards such a long standing and worth while cause. We are confident these funds will be utilised by providing care to the people who need it the most.
​
'Nothing could really prepare me for this'
Gaza - Israel War
July 2024
​It’s been two months since I returned from the Palestine and Israel, after completing an assignment as head of mission for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
I’ve worked in many conflict zones over my career, but nothing could really prepare me for this. From having to negotiate and justify the humanitarian significance of water desalination plants—for camps where Palestinians had only half a litre of water each day—to trying to support and work with colleagues who had lost family members and were unsure whether they would survive the nightly aerial bombings, it was incredibly tough.
​
As I moved through Jerusalem, the suffering of the Palestinians was clear, and so too the pain of the Israelis. This war has been decades in the making, but it has reached a critical apex of division.
​
During my assignment, I witnessed international medical organisations setting up hospitals in tents, aid being parachuted in from the sky, and a pier being built to receive aid by sea. All these efforts to bring in much needed supplies, to deliver food and medical aid to the two million Palestinians who are suffering famine-like conditions is nonsense when there are perfectly viable land crossings being blocked from usage.
Gaza should not have to rely on hospitals in tents. Eight months ago, Gaza had 36 fully functioning secondary level hospitals, but almost all of them have been damaged by a targeted campaign of bombing. Today, only a handful of them have some partial functionality.
​
Before the war, the quality of care in these hospitals was of a very high standard, comparable to that of high-income countries.
It is under these conditions that MSF is forced to operate and, more importantly, the Palestinians must endure and survive the relentless bombing campaigns. Every day, MSF teams are risking their lives to provide healthcare, water, and some sense of services to the over two million people trapped in Gaza. We do not feel powerless; we feel like our support is the most basic act of solidarity we can provide.
​
Since returning I have met with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and members of the Australian Parliament. Our calls for a ceasefire have been heard, and we feel the Government understands that as a medical charity we are at the limits of what we can do.
​
We will continue to advocate for a ceasefire, for the upholding of International Humanitarian Law, and for healthcare services to be restored. Thank you for your support.
I’m not sure how this war will end, I’m not sure what will become of my colleagues, but I do know what I must do in the next weeks and months. I’ll never stop hoping and believing a better world is possible, for the stakes are too high.
​
As the war continues, MSF is still responding in Gaza and providing surgical support, wound care, physiotherapy, postpartum care, primary healthcare, vaccinations and mental health services, but systematic sieges, evacuation orders and attacks on healthcare facilities on various hospitals are pushing our activities into an ever-smaller area and limiting response.
​​​
Arunn Jegan
Head of Mission
Médecins Sans Frontières Australia
Haiti Crisis
2023
Since the assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse nearly three years ago, the people of the capital Port-au-Prince have been struggling to survive as armed gangs, police, and civilian self-defense brigades fight in the streets of the city.
People are caught in the crossfire, suffering severe casualties and compounded needs as the conflict disrupts access to basic services including health care, water, food, and livelihoods. Health facilities in Haiti face critical gaps including a lack of bed space, blood, oxygen, and surgical capacity.
​
MSF currently runs two trauma hospitals (Tabarre and Carrefour), two emergency centers (Drouillard and Turgeau) and one center for the survivors of sexual violence in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Mobile clinics are temporarily suspended because of the volatile situation.
​
The dangerous situation in the streets due to armed clashes and barricades, and the many closures of medical facilities makes it virtually impossible to do referrals, adding to the pressure on the few facilities that are functional, including those run by MSF.
​
Turkey - Syria Earthquake
2023
n 6 February 2023, two massive magnitude 7.8 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southcentral Türkiye and northwest of neighboring Syria. Since then, over 22 thousand aftershocks have happened and continue happening.
​
More than 58,000 people have died, and millions have been affected following the earthquakes in both countries.
​
MSF has been present in northwest and northeast Syria for many years, making a swift response possible in the most affected areas, mainly in NWS, while NES was much less affected.
​
MSF teams are adapting their response in Syria to offer immediate relief and medical support. The pillars of the first few days of the response were supporting medical facilities to treat patients with material and HR support, facilitating transport of patients by supporting ambulances, and providing immediate relief items to people affected.
​
Today, MSF has scaled its efforts deploying mobile clinics, distributing relief items, implementing water and sanitation and logistics activities, and offering psychological first aid.
​​​
Covid 19 Response
June 2020
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Medecins Sans Frontiers launched projects in over 60 countries to cater to the demands. This was integrated in several different ways:
Training and hospital management
Treating patients with the disease
Distribution of equipment
Support with hygiene
Mental healthcare
Simultaneously, more than 450 projects that were operating before the pandemic were also affected. Along with treating patients with Covid 19 their ongoing work is essential for those in war torn countries and where medical assistance would not otherwise be available.