1. Unrelenting violence stalks civilians throughout eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Doctors Without Borders reported that civilians gathered with their children at one of their vaccination sites were attacked by government forces. The group says actions like this severely undermine the trust necessary to carry out independent medical humanitarian work.
2. Somalis endure violence and lack access to health care
The group reports that 42 relief workers have been killed in Somalia since 2008. The ongoing civil war forced 200,000 people to flee the capital, Mogadishu, in the first months of 2009.
3. Precarious situation for people in southern Sudan and Darfur
Hundreds of thousands of people still have no access to aid and health care services in Sudan, where the crisis in Darfur and decades of civil war in the South offer "no end in sight to violence and suffering." There are still escalating tensions.
4. Thousands injured during the final stage of Sri Lanka's decades-long war
The battles between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels left tens of thousands of civilians trapped with only limited medical care this spring after aid groups were banned from the conflict zone.
5. Civilians suffer from violence and neglect in Pakistan
In Pakistan's Swat Valley, MSF were forced to suspend operations due to violence that saw its hospitals struck by mortar fire and two of the group's workers killed.
6. Politics of aid leave many Afghans cut off from humanitarian assistance
Afghan civilians have endured increasing levels of violence as the war in Afghanistan escalated in 2009. The insecurity has left only a few poorly functioning hospitals and clinics. Afghan civilians have to risk traveling hundred of miles through a war zone to seek medical care. Displaced people fleeing the war in the eastern provinces often have their needs and health care neglected because it is not a priority in counter-insurgency aid policies.
7. Civilians trapped in violent war in northern Yemen
Shelling during fierce fighting between government forces and rebels forced MSF to close the only hospital serving an entire district.
8. Woefully inadequate funding undermines gains in childhood malnutrition treatment
Malnutrition causes the deaths of between 3.5 million to 5 million children a year. The group said that while the international community spends $350 million a year to fight malnutrition, an estimated $11.5 billion is needed.
9. Funding for AIDS treatment stagnating despite millions still in need
Dwindling funding for HIV/AIDS threatens to leave 10 million infected people without treatment in the developing world. Since pledging to support universal AIDS treatment coverage by 2010 at the 2005 G8 Summit, many countries announced plans to reduce or limit funding (including the U.S.)
10. Lack of research and development and scale up of treatment plagues patients with neglected diseases
The international community continues to neglect diseases such as Chagas, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, and the Buruli ulcer that mostly affects the poor in developing countries.
Please check out MSF's website for more information on their list. (Full Story) (Full Story)
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