In 2015, we’ve had over 200 blog posts from 30 countries. Doctors, nurses, logisticians, pharmacists and many more have shared their stories, thoughts and MSF lives with us.
We’re really grateful to all our bloggers who have taken the time to write in 2015.
Here are the most popular blog posts for 2015.
1. La vie en MSF
Emma Pedley
Emma Pedley’s been working with MSF as a nurse since 2013. She’s spent time in South Sudan, Central African Republic and Nepal.
In this, the most read blog post of 2015, she takes a humorous look at what it means to work for MSF.
Here are what Emma believes to be the 24 signs that show you work for MSF (or will do one day).
2. Against the Odds
"This was her first pregnancy and she had apparently been in labour for four days already; the membranes had also ruptured four days earlier. She had come to us by boat, car and foot at full term and in a ridiculously prolonged labour. No wonder she looked terrible."
MSF Obstetrician Benjamin Black writes a heartfelt blog post about a difficult delivery in Central African Republic, one of the most dangerous places for a mother to give birth.
3. Nepal One
"This feels like the mission that I always knew I was going to do."
What goes through the head of someone being sent to an emergency situation?
Emma Pedley blogs in the moments before she headed to Nepal as part of our response to the earthquake in April.
4. Yet Again
This is a first-hand account of a deadly day on the Mediterranean from MSF doctor Simon Bryant, on-board the Phoenix search and rescue vessel.
"One day, two wooden boats, one rubber dinghy, one helivac, over a thousand people rescued by three ships, and 52 perfectly senseless deaths... A journalist later asked me about the nationality of the deceased... I felt a flash of quiet rage, at the question and the injustice. 'They were all simply people', I managed to reply, 'whose nationality was of no consequence.'"
5. "All I need is a metre of rope"
"Twenty months of treatment? Fifteen to 16 tablets a day, right? No, I would rather die. All I need is a metre of rope."
MSF doctor Amrita Ronnachit blogs about treating tuberculosis in Uzbekistan and shares the story of a 19-year-old patient.
6. Lost in Transition
Emma Pedley’s third entry in the top ten! This time she discusses what it’s like to finish a mission and return home.
"There’s no easy answer or coping mechanism for this stage. I think a fine balance is the best you can hope for – gradually reconnect with the things of home, try not to lose touch too fast with the things and people you have left behind.”
7. Quadruplets
“The quadruplets – Bismillah, Rahmadullah, Rhiniullah and Rahima – lie all together in an incubator in our neonatal intensive care unit in Boost Hospital in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The mother delivered all four of them naturally without problems. Actually they’re all doing quite well, but they are premature. In Helmand even a few weeks of prematurity can mean big risks for the child.”
Paediatrician Steffen Hillebrand blogs from the provincial hospital of Lashkar Gah about the birth of quadruplets – an event that’s stressful enough in a German hospital, let alone one cut off in Afghanistan.
8. Breathe: The story of Saleem
Wong Poh Fei also blogs about childbirth in Afghanistan.
“Come on baby, don’t quit on me. Breathe. Breathe, please. My eyes were glued to his little chest moving up and down with each breath that I gave. Breathe!!!”
9. Clémentine
"Aside from the blips and pings of various monitors, the only sound is the little girl’s laboured breathing. Though she’s feverish and limp, you can still see distress in her eyes."
Read Sandra’s blog about two-year-old Clémentine from Democratic Republic of Congo.
10. Nepal Earthquake Response: reaching people in remote areas
MSF doctor Prince Matthew blogs from Kathmandu following the earthquake in Nepal.
"On Thursday we started running a mobile clinic by helicopter, visiting remote villages in the mountains north of Kathmandu."
Read more blog posts from MSF teams and patients across the world