Médecins Sans Frontières - VIDEO : A Year in Focus 2017-2018 (ENG)

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF246747

Date taken / Date Recorded 01/05/2018 12:00 AM

Country Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Uganda, Yemen

Commissioning section MSF-FRANCE

Copyright MSF

Formal Consent Copy available no

Editor's rating ★★★★★ (C)

Video format h264 (Main) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 27m50s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 828.21 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist 15’ Helaï : Hi everyone and welcome to Year in Focus. What happened in the field in 2017 and what dilemmas did we have to contend with?
Let’s look at some film footage and talk to Mégo.
A YEAR IN FOCUS 2017/18
#YIF18/IRAQ
10’
IRAK Helaï : Our first topic is Iraq.
In October 2016, our attention turned to Mosul as the United States launched an offensive to retake the city from Islamic State
IRAQ – BAGHDAD - MOSUL
1 minute MOSUL - NORTH IRAQ

In October 2016, the coalition bombed eastern Mosul

Those who could fled the city

MSF provided assistance in displaced persons camps

and treated the wounded and sick in a hospital in Qayyarah

In February 2017, the coalition shifted its focus to western Mosul

In one month, MSF treated almost 1,500 casualties

Laurent Dedieu, logistics coordinator, MSF: “The majority are civilians who’ve managed to get out of neighbourhoods retaken by the Iraqi armed forces.”

Closer to the old city, the fighting was even heavier

In April, the number of casualties treated by the rescue teams fell sharply

MSF, however, did not speak out to question how the war was being conducted

By the end of the battle, Mosul was reduced to ruins

Samira Loulidi, project coordinator, MSF: 80% of old Mosul was destroyed. There is no water, no electricity, no health facilities.”

It’s impossible to say how many civilian lives were lost

The Iraqi authorities refused to allow MSF to conduct a retrospective mortality survey in West Mosul

2 ’30 Helaï : In April 2017, during the offensive to retake West Mosul, what did we know about what was going on and what could we say?
Mego : Frankly, we knew very little. We were aware civilians were trapped in West Mosul, in the old city held by Islamic State and that the US-led coalition was carrying out massive aerial and terrestrial bombardments.
Regrettably, we didn’t see many civilians coming out of the last parts of Mosul’s old city, so we did’t have much information to report.
After the end of the war in West Mosul, the little we heard from survivors was that there’d been indiscriminate bombing on a massive scale, that no difference was made between civilians and fighters, and that thousands of people, including civilians, died during the final stages of the battle to retake West Mosul.

June saw further controversy when a member of MSF’s criticisms of WHO were made public

Helaï : There was some controversy within the movement, as some people criticised WHO for using private companies to tend to the wounded. What was MSF-France’s position?
PRIVATE COMPANIES = MANAGED BY THE IRAQUI ARMY OR AN ARMED GROUP
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Mego : MSF teams were afraid of working too near the frontlines. The WHO launched its initiative and set up teams not far from the frontline. And they did indeed manage to transport patients, namely the wounded, in a correct manner, to medical facilities. I consider it’s not our place to comment on what the WHO did, on the rights and the wrongs. It’s up to them to make their own assessment of their actions. Was impartiality respected? As far as I’m concerned, what counts most is treating the wounded. What matters is that those people and their ambulances were able to transport, in a fairly time manner, the wounded, some of them very seriously, to hospitals in the area.
15’
SYRIE Helaï : Thanks Mégo. Let’s look at Syria now.
Syria is over 7 years of war
Five million refugees
Six million displaced
And hundreds of thousands of deaths
SYRIA
#YIF18/SYRIA
DAMASCUS – 5 million refugees – 6 million displaced – Hundreds and thousands of deaths
RAQQA. SYRIA
45’ Raqqa, Islamic State’s former stronghold, was inaccessible to aid during an offensive that lasted 4 months.

In October 2017 the Syrian Democratic Forces retook the town

Nothing remained but ruins

and explosive devices lethal to any inhabitants wishing to return home
1’30 Helaï : We didn’t do that much in Raqqa. Why was that?

Mego : I wouldn’t say our intervention in Raqqa governorate didn’t amount to much. MSF Amsterdam and MSF Paris were hugely present in Raqqa governorate - in Kobane, Tal-Abyad and Manbij and around Raqqa. MSF had quite a few teams working there and was able to assist people. But in Raqqa’s old city, people found themselves trapped with Islamic State fighters and extremely heavy aerial and terrestrial bombing. We saw from afar the extent of the bombing and fighting and obviously we condemned what we were seeing, we condemned the intensity of the bombing— and the fact that absolutely no wounded were coming out of Raqqa’s old city.
Damascus -Raqqa governorate - Kobane – Tal Abyad – Manbij (check spelling) - Raqqa.

GAZA Helaï : And now over to recent events in Gaza. The situation has deteriorated in recent months.
40’ Gaza Strip

April 2018. Demonstrations along the fence separating Gaza from Israel

From the other side of the fence, the Israeli army fired live ammunition causing particularly devastating injuries

MSF’s teams worked around the clock to treat the wounded

Many will suffer lifelong injuries

In mid-May, on the day the US embassy moved to Jerusalem, the Israelis committed a massacre

Dozens of Palestinians were killed and over 2,200 were wounded

MSF responded by demanding that the Israeli army stop “it’s disproportionate use of violence” against the protestors

This turn of phrase shocked many within MSF.
•YIF18/GAZA
GAZA STRIP - GAZA

r Helaï : And now to Yemen, a country torn apart by more than three years of conflict.
•YIF18/YEMEN
Sanaa
1 minute Cholera and diphtheria epidemics, malnutrition…

According to the UN, 20 million of 27 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian aid

MSF provides assistance in 12 of the country’s governorates

Depending on the region, however, the situation changes hugely.

SAADA - HAYDAN
The North is in the hands of the Houthis

It is routinely bombed by the Saudi-led coalition
HAYDAN – NORTHERN YEMEN
MSF provides paediatric care and maternity services

Malnutrition is common in some parts of the country

Childhood illnesses like respiratory infections are frequent too
ADEN – SOUTHERN YEMEN
The South is in a state of almost civil war

MSF runs surgical and emergency medical aid projects
2’ Helaï : MSF is critical of the UN for dramatizing the situation in Yemen and announcing alarmist figures. What’s our analysis of the country’s situation today?

Mégo : It’s true that Médecins sans Frontières doesn’t believe the figures announced by UN humanitarian agencies. On the other hand, I can confirm that the situation is catastrophic, with almost daily airstrikes against civilians in markets and schools, and hospitals too. In three years, MSF has performed surgery on almost 60,000 trauma patients. That’s a lot of people. We’re one of very few international organisations providing surgery. On top of the victims of violence and people displaced in improvised and official camps, other medical issues have emerged in the past two years. Like diphtheria, a disease not seen since 1992. Cholera’s been another problem. The outbreak lasted several months and, even if the UN exaggerated the figures yet again when declaring there were over one million cases in nine months, we did see thousands of patients with cholera arriving at 24 MSF-run cholera treatment centres in the country.
60,000 people operated (war-related injuries)
Helaï : What difficulties are we currently facing in our work in Yemen?

Mégo : The main issues are security and managing the safety of the teams. MSF has over 2,500 Yemeni and international staff deployed in the north and the south of the country.
We have to negotiate with all the armed groups in the south, notably, because different groups operate there. There are also foreign armies led or coordinated by Saudi Arabia and we have to enter into discussions and negotiations with them too to ensure the safety of our teams. In the north, it’s—quote—easier because at least we know there’s only one group, Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthis. We have to negotiate with them almost every day to try and obtain security guarantees for our personnel. Then there are administrative obstacles. We have to get authorisation from the Saudi-led coalition before deploying MSF teams in south and north Yemen. We often have problems with obtaining expat visas in time and importing drugs and medical supplies in both the north and south of the country. These administrative constraints are really challenging and draining for our teams at the head offices but even more so in the field.
ANSAR ALLAH – political branch of the HOUTHIS

20’
BANGLADESH Helaï : Thanks Mégo. Now over to Bangladesh, one of biggest emergencies this past year. Almost 700,000 Rohingya refugees fled to southern Bangladesh. MSF stepped in and used the opportunity to conduct a retrospective mortality survey of the violence that erupted in Myanmar at the end of August. It was this violence that caused the Rohingyas to flee.
#YIF18/BANGLADESH - DHAKA
1 Rashida, Rohingya refugee: They killed everybody, I only survived because I pretended to be dead. I lay totally still, surrounded by dead bodies.
Rashida. Rohingya refugee
KUTUPALONG-BALUKHALI CAMP _ BANGLADESH

Epicentre carried out six surveys among the refugees at the end of 2017
Results showed that at least 6,700 people were killed in one month in Myanmar

Conclusion: at least 6,700 people in Myanmar were killed in one month. 730 were children

Kutupalong-Balukhali is now one of the world’s biggest refugee camps

Sewage from nearby latrines has contaminated water in a lot of wells

Overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions increase the risk of epidemics

MSF provides medical care and supplies clean water

Gwenola, head of emergency operations, MSF: « This region of Bangladesh is often hit by cyclones. We’re concerned that, because of the cyclones and monsoon rains, the situation will deteriorate. So we’re still in the emergency phase.

1’30
MIGRANTS #YIF18/MIGRATION
NIGER – LIBYA -FRANCE
Helaï : This year yet again, many people fled their countries to escape violence or poverty. At every stage of their journeys, in countries they pass through or are given refuge, they suffer the consequences of repressive migration policies.
MSF is present in several places along the migrant route. Do we have any involvement in what happens in the earlier stages of their journey, in Mali and Niger for example, or in Côte d’Ivoire?

Mégo : Of course we do, but don’t forget these people who’re on the move want to keep out of sight because, if they get arrested, for example by the Nigerien or Libyan authorities, they risk deportation. It makes it really hard for MSF to access them. It’s tough, especially in Niger. We have to do everything we can to try and find these people and set up operations to rescue them.
2’ Helaï : MSF provides medical care in Libyan detention centres. Our teams witness the inhuman conditions and abuse. We have also condemned the policies intended to keep refugees in Libya. Isn’t it a bit of a contradiction to participate in a system we condemn?
LIBYA _ TRIPOLI
Mégo : There’s been a lot of contentious debate at MSF in recent months, with some colleagues saying “doesn’t working alongside the Libyan and European authorities in the camps make us accomplices?” I also understand colleagues who want to carry on and do their best to assist people who attempt to leave and end up in prison. We see almost no other NGOs in the camps. The Libyan authorities aren’t doing much to offer even half-decent conditions to the migrants. We’re continuing our work, we continue to provide assistance and in parallel we are still condemning the conditions these people are detained in, and the attitude of the Libyan authorities who benefit from European support. MSF Amsterdam’s very detailed report on the migrants’ detention conditions and the authorities’ behaviour is a good example, as are the various reports and public statements MSF has made in the past few months.
MSF PRESS CONFERENCE IN BRUSSELS, SEPTEMBER 2017
Dr JOANNE LIU, MSF INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

30’ Helaï : Migrants who do manage to escape from Libya take to the sea, with little chance of surviving the crossing.
Since 2015, MSF has led search and rescue operations, like with SOS Méditerranée onboard the ship the Aquarius.
And then there’s France, a temporary halt or, for some migrants, a destination. We have a team set up in Pantin near Paris.
30’ PANTIN – FRANCE
MSF’s unaccompanied minors centre offers medical and mental health services

It also provides legal, administrative and welfare advice

MSF works with partner organisations Utopia 56, ADJIE, COMEDE and Safe Passage

and pro bono lawyers and volunteers

ANNE-LAURE LEGUICHEUX, social worker, MSF (en français)
“I’m going to be able to help you find addresses of places where you can get food, shower, clothes and French lessons.”

In the first five months, 330 minors were provided assistance
But MSF is concerned about the new asylum law that has been passed

Corinne Torre, head of mission, MSF
“What are the implications of the legislation on asylum and immigration? Basically, it means not taking in people who’ve lived through gruelling journeys (…,) who get to the Italian-French border and are sent back to Italy. Unaccompanied minors aren’t being allowed to cross the border. They face constant abuse throughout their journeys and it doesn’t stop, even when they get to France. (…) It’s called offering shelter in dignified conditions. Right now, dignified conditions mean hundreds of people sleeping rough in the street.”
MSF is also advocating for minors to be placed with host families
A programme is to be launched in mid-June
10’
OUGANDA Helaï : We also have teams in Uganda, some assisting refugees from Congo. Close to 60,000 people have fled the violence that erupted at the end of 2017 in Ituri in east Democratic Republic of Congo.
40’ #YIF18/UGANDA
UGANDA - DRC - KAMPALA
Lake Albert, Ugandan side

Janet, Congolese refugeee: “As we crossed the lake, we could see the houses burning behind us.”

Janet fled Democratic Republic of Congo by boat

On arriving in Uganda, the refugees are sent to one of the camps

MSF has set up a water-supply system

and 2 health clinics

The team has also had to deal with a cholera epidemic
which left 44 people dead

Negotiations with our partners didn’t allow us to carry out emergency vaccinations

30’
ABUS Helaï : Earlier this year, in February, MSF released figures related to its whistleblowing anti-abuse policy. In one year, 146 complaints or alerts were registered and 40 were classed as cases of abuse or harassment. 19 people were dismissed.
These figures were published after the Oxfam scandal, but MSF France set up a cell specifically for managing cases like these over 10 years ago.
146 complaints or alerts for the MSF movement as a whole
40 identified as cases of abuse or harassment
19 dismissals
2 minutes Helaï : What more can MSF do? How can it better prevent these situations and manage cases if and when they occur?

Mégo : Obviously we have to improve the tools and hold more workshops to better inform MSF employees and volunteers. We have to improve prevention and case management and raise awareness. But generally speaking, I think that, at least in our section and group, our abuse management cell is doing a remarkable job. That said, I think if there’s something we could do better, it’s raising awareness and preventing and managing cases of abuse committed by MSF staff against patients or beneficiaries. That’s what we need to improve in the weeks and months to come.
15’
RCA #YIF CAR - BANGUI
Helaï : In Central African Republic, violence broke out recently in Bangui… On May 1st 2018, 16 people were killed and a hundred others wounded in a single day. But the entire country has been plagued by insecurity since 2013. We have teams in Bria too, in spite of the risks they face.
40’ BRIA – Eastern CAR
Yannick Yamale, assistant nurse, MSF: “That’s the house for MSF staff who work at the hospital. The damage was caused by the armed conflict opposing the Seleka and Anti-balaka. We’ve taken refuge in the hospital.”

85% of Bria’s inhabitants have fled their homes because of the violence

The MSF hospital is now a safe haven for 2,000 of the displaced

The rest live in camps protected by the United Nations or armed groups

Throughout the country, insecurity manifests itself in periods of extreme violence interspersed with relative calm

Peace talks are at a standstill

20’
TB #YIF – PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Port Moresby
Helaï : MSF also works in Papua New Guinea, where tuberculosis is the second cause of death. So far, we’ve been primarily involved with resistant forms of the disease but increasingly we’re treating regular tuberculosis. It’s easier to treat, but it’s still inflicting a very heavy toll…

40’ In 2016, Papua-New-Guinea had 30,000 new cases of tuberculosis

Some people live in very remote areas

Screening for and treating tuberculosis can be challenging

“From here, now on, you can only go by boat”

The treatment is gruelling

Ensuring patients complete treatment calls for a lot of support

“Some of the medications are strong with strong side effects and
So people tend to stop taking their doses. That’s why, after completing my treatment, I decided to help other people
diagnosed with TB, especially with their medications.”

In 2017, MSF put 2,100 patients on treatment

20’
AVORTEMENT #YIF18/ABORTION
Helaï : Our final subject is abortion. Combating the causes of maternal mortality is one of MSF’s missions, and one of the causes is unsafe abortion. Too often, we have to confront the situation of young girls coming to us in critical condition and who we’re not always able to save.
30’ Infections, peritonitis, vaginal and uterine trauma

The consequences of unsafe abortion are extremely serious

Few of our projects offer women who want it the possibility of terminating an unwanted pregnancy

They simply get sent home

But, by offering safe abortion, MSF could help prevent so many deaths
2’30 Helaï : MSF has been wanting for women to have access to safe abortion for ages. But we see providing the option in the field isn’t that simple. What do you think we can do to improve the situation?

Mégo : In the past two years there’s been real progress within OCP. In 2017, we had 667 cases of voluntary termination of pregnancy, twice as many as in 2016, which is a big improvement. The problem is that these 667 abortions were performed in just 3 MSF projects—two in Uganda and one in South Sudan. So we need to do more awareness-raising in other MSF fields.

We held a workshop at headquarters and two in the field in 2017 to improve the situation, and workshops are scheduled for 2018 in at least four of the countries where MSF-France is working: Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, South Sudan and Central African Republic. By holding more of these kinds of workshops in MSF missions, we’ll be more able assist women wanting terminations. But let’s not forget the main obstacle which is the refusal of some Ministries of Health in countries where MSF works to allow abortion. What can we do about that? Will the heads of mission and medical coordinators able to negotiate, explain that it’s a medical need like any other and convince the authorities to change? Time will tell.
2017/ 667 ABORTIONS – SOUTH SUDAN – UGANDA

Helaï : Thanks Mégo. We’re coming to the end of this year’s Year in Focus. You would like to give a special mention to our three colleagues abducted 5 years ago in DRC.

Mégo : Philippe, Richard and Romy. Almost 5 years and they’re still missing. Sadly we’ve had no news of them in recent months. And Mukanos’s arrest in August last year hasn’t made things any easier. Mukanos had been a member of the emergency cell for several years and held a key role in the search for our colleagues. The priority for the board of directors and the executive management in the short-term is securing Mukanos’s release and continuing our search for our three colleagues, in the hope we’ll find solutions and be able to give some good news to everyone at MSF.

Helaï : You want to send a message to our colleagues in the field and elsewhere.

Mégo : I would like to thank all our MSF colleagues in the field and in the head offices for their dedication and commitment but, even more, their courage.

That’s it for the Year in Focus. Thank you for watching and see you next year!