The Humanitarian Lens

Why contraception is essential health care in humanitarian crises

Contraception is often framed as a political issue. In humanitarian settings, it is essential health care.  In this episode of The Humanitarian Lens, host Chigo Ahunanya speaks with Dr. Julia McDonald, a family medicine physician, about how MSF provides contraception care in contexts facing conflict, displacement, and limited access to health services. Drawing on her work with Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Nigeria, Dr. McDonald shares how MSF teams address barriers to care such as distance, misinformation, and stigma. The conversation also explores person‑centered and trauma‑informed care, patient autonomy, and why access to accurate information is critical for reproductive and maternal health.

Understanding the aid shift and its devastating impact on global health programs

On this episode of the Humanitarian Lens podcast, MSF International President Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim speaks with host Chigo Ahunanya about the impact of US policy changes and funding cuts that upended humanitarian aid and global health programs over the past year.    MSF does not accept US government funding, but our teams have witnessed the devastating impacts on the communities we assist: Clinics closed. Medicines sat stranded at ports. Health workers lost their jobs.  Dr. Abdelmoneim talks about his experience working with community-based organizations in Sudan a year ago, right after the aid cuts were announced. He also shares insights about how changes to global health and humanitarian aid financing impact our teams, our patients, and communities already suffering from abuse and neglect.  The Humanitarian Lens is a podcast produced by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières USA that looks into the world’s most urgent humanitarian emergencies through the experiences of our aid workers.  Note: This episode was recorded on December 15, 2025.  00:00–01:10 — How MSF responds to the changing humanitarian landscape 01:10–02:10 — Examining the impact of humanitarian aid funding cuts 02:10–08:13 — Javid’s firsthand experience of the cuts in Sudan 08:13–12:51 — How funding cuts disrupt health ecosystems where MSF works 12:51–15:00 — The changing humanitarian landscape 15:00–18:57 — The impact on HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria care 18:57–21:55 — How MSF is adapting to these global shifts 21:55–23:17 — The impact of rising healthcare costs 23:17–24:42 — The communities most affected by funding cuts 24:42–30:58 — Javid’s vision for the future of MSF

A doctor's account from Gaza

On this episode of the Humanitarian Lens podcast, host Avril Benoît speaks with Dr. Aqsa Durrani [https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/who-we-are/us-office/people/dr-aqsa-durrani], a US-based pediatrician and epidemiologist, whose latest assignment was at an MSF field hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.   Dr. Durrani describes the immense suffering of civilians across the Gaza Strip after more than a year and a half of an all-out war and a brutal siege. Israeli forces are systematically destroying the conditions necessary for Palestinian life.  During her assignment, from February 24 through April 24, 2025, Dr. Durrani and her colleagues treated patients of all ages for injuries from airstrikes, burns, fractures, and gunshot wounds, among others. The vast majority of patients she saw were women and children.  Learn more about MSF’s response in Gaza on our website:   https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/our-response-israel-gaza-war [https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/our-response-israel-gaza-war]  The Humanitarian Lens, a new podcast from Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA, explores the world’s most urgent humanitarian emergencies through the experiences of MSF aid workers.  Follow MSF USA on social media for updates about Gaza and our medical humanitarian work in over 70 countries around the world.  Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/doctorswithoutborders/] / LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/msf-usa] / BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/doctorswithoutborders.org]  00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM]-00:28 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=28s] - The vast majority of patients we were seeing were women and children. 00:28 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=28s]-01:04 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=64s] - Today we're looking at Gaza through a humanitarian lens. 01:09 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=69s]-02:31 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=151s]- Why Dr. Aqsa Durrani took the assignment to Gaza. 02:31 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=151s]-05:18 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=318s] - What it was like entering Gaza. 05:18 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=318s]-08:50 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=530s] - Dr. Durrani's role and the kinds of cases she saw. 08:50 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=530s]-10:54 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=654s] - Obstacles to accessing medical care and a story about a particular patient. 11:22 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=682s]-14:44 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=884s] - The heartache of patients' situations and stories about patients who lost their family members. 14:44 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=884s]-18:18 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1098s] - The lack of food in Gaza. 18:18 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1098s]-20:23 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1223s] - The systematic nature of attacks on health care in Gaza. 20:23 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1223s]-22:10 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1330s] - Coming back to the US after being in Gaza. 22:10 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1330s]-23:01 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug7yzvt-cM&t=1381s] - Dr. Durrani's Palestinian colleagues in Gaza: "If they have hope, who are we not to have hope?" #DoctorsWithoutBorders [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/doctorswithoutborders] #HumanitarianLens [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/humanitarianlens] #Podcast [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/podcast]

Sudan: How MSF is responding to the world’s worst humanitarian emergency

What is happening in Sudan? On this first episode of The Humanitarian Lens podcast from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA, join host Avril Benoît and MSF doctor Mohammed Fadlalla for a deep dive into the spiraling humanitarian emergency in Sudan. More than two years of war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have left more than 30 million people in need humanitarian aid. More than 12 million have fled their homes, including millions of refugees who have crossed into neighboring Chad and South Sudan. Sudan's health system has been pushed to the point of collapse, and medical needs in the country are dire. And this crisis is unfolding amid unprecedented cuts to international humanitarian aid, not only from the US government but other nations, which have caused massive disruption to global health and humanitarian programs. Dr. Fadlalla has completed multiple assignments in Sudan with MSF over the past five years, including most recently in Omdurman, Sudan’s second most populous city. In this episode, he shares his experience coordinating medical activities, working closely with locally hired Sudanese colleagues and staff from Sudan’s Ministry of Health in two hospitals in Omdurman from mid-November 2024 to March 6, 2025. Learn more about the crisis in Sudan and MSF’s work on our website: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/sudan-crisis-response Follow MSF USA on social media for updates about our medical humanitarian work. Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/doctorswithoutborders/] / LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/msf-usa/] / BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/doctorswithoutborders.org] 00:00-00:43 - Mass casualty events in Sudan. 00:46-01:40 - What's happening in Sudan? 01:42-03:20 - Dr. Mohammed Fadlalla, his background and experience in Sudan. 03:20-06:52 - What working in the city of Omdurman was like, a description of the context and the two hospitals that MSF supported. 06:52-09:22 - What the MSF medical team did day to day, the kinds of cases they saw, what the needs were .09:22-11:11 - Dr. Fadlalla’s recent experience in Omdurman as compared to his previous experience in Sudan. 11:11-14:47 - Avril Benoît describes the people and conditions she witnessed in Darfur in 2024 and in previous visits to the region. 14:47-16:16 - Heartbreaking situations Dr. Fadlalla experienced in Omdurman, including the case of a malnourished child. 16:17-17:42 - The difficult situation of the elderly in Sudan and in other war-affected areas. 17:42-20:20 - Dr. Fadlalla describes witnessing how civilians are impacted by the war in Sudan. 20:21-22:29 - How Dr. Fadlalla communicates about his experiences at home in US after he returns from Sudan.