MSF has been working in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia since 1997. Activities started in the hospital in the town of Humera in Tigray region, on the border to Sudan, and in 2003 shifted to nearby farming town in Amhara region. The focus of MSF in the region is the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of kala azar and snakebite - two neglected tropical diseases. In the area MSF mostly treated migrant workers, who work barefoot on the vast farms during harvest season in one of the most fertile regions in northern Ethiopia.

In early November, tensions between the national government in Addis Ababa and the northern region of Tigray escalated into a full-blown military conflict. One month into the conflict, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

On 5 November 2020, our MSF team in the Amhara region heard shelling and bombing of the first military escalation. They quickly started to support a Ministry of Health-run health centre receiving an influx of war wounded from the border areas. In just a few hours, the team had to switch from our regular medical project activities to emergency medical assistance for treating wounded. Within only a week, our team treated 265 casualties, many of them with severe war injuries.