Update from Ann Foley, Medair’s Country Director in Lebanon. In the wake of another airstrike in Lebanon this week, we are witnessing a concerning increase in tensions and instability across a country already reeling from rising poverty and widespread food insecurity.  This spring, it feels like it has gone up a notch. In February we saw the first airstrikes in the Bekaa Valley for nearly 20 years, in a place where Medair colleagues were working close-by at the time. I am pleased to report that they are ok but were certainly shaken and in need of support. In March and April, there have been m ..read more

Marta, 29 years old, a Syrian community member photographed during a midwife consultation in a tented home at an informal settlement in Serraaine, North Bekaa, on the 7th of February 2024.   Marta has been pregnant for seven weeks and is following up on her consultation with Medair’s midwife, Zeina, after receiving her first consultation at the Medair-supported Serraaine primary health care centre in North Bekaa. ©Medair/Abdul Dennaoui “The constant overcoming of obstacles is a daily burden. I worry about the future for us. How will I feed my child if I can barely afford to feed myself? I n ..read more

Tal Salhab Primary Health Centre, located in Hama Governorate, after the rehabilitation work is finished. Medair has conducted rehabilitation for the clinic and facilitated the rehabilitation by supplying medical equipment and some medications to the clinic. ©Medair/Lubna Zarzour “The clinic is ready!” The news was music to Dr Eyad’s,(the director of Tal Salhab clinic), ears. Medair had just completed the rehabilitation of Tal Salhab’s only primary health centre, providing it with much-needed medical equipment – offering a lifeline to over 30,000 people in crisis-torn western-central Syria ..read more

Sudan crisis: how Medair is stepping in Twelve months into the armed conflict in Sudan, it has become the largest displacement crisis in the world. To date, 8.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and the number is growing every day. Families have sought refuge in neighbouring countries such as Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. But even within the country, 6.5 million people who fled the war zones are now internally displaced. Many of them are forced to stay in emergency shelters in overcrowded IDP settlements or schools. As a result, humanitarian needs have increased dramatica ..read more

“I really enjoyed the organization of these trainings. I’ve already gained a lot of interesting knowledge, which, it seems, I was already familiar with, but had never thought about it deeply. Learning new things, I understand how I can apply them in my work to provide better support to people, especially in such a challenging period for everyone,” says Yaroslav, a family doctor with 28 years of experience in the medical field. Yaroslav, a family doctor with 28 years of experience in the medical field, seats on a sofa communicating with me about the benefits of training. ©Medair/Diana Mukan ..read more

In southern Madagascar, Medair aims to play a key role in improving access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for vulnerable communities affected by drought and ‘kere’ (famine). Normally, people living in remote villages in southern Madagascar need to walk 10 to 40 km to get water. But during the rainy season, these long journeys are no longer necessary and are avoided by using the local “sihanake”, or ponds and puddles. For Teratsoa – a 20-year-old father who lives in the rural commune of Anjeky Akilikiry – water is a daily struggle. He sat down with us to share his story, telling us how tha ..read more

“Sometime around 6 a.m., my nephew called me and said, ‘Are you still sleeping? THE conflict has started.’ I shouted at my children to turn on the television to watch the news. I never thought I would experience something like this at my age. It was a terrifying shock.” Nataliya vividly remembers the day the conflict in Ukraine engulfed her life.  Nataliya, 66-years-old, Kyiv community member, stands near her house smiling. ©Medair/Diana Mukan. The first few days were chaotic and unpredictable for Nataliya and the other members of her community in the Kyiv region. “There were enor ..read more

“We lost everything, our home and farm, therefore I left everything behind me. I carry hope to have a better place for me and for my family,” Fozeh said, her voice heavy with the weight of displacement but her spirit resilient with the promise of a brighter future. In 2011, the conflict in Syria forced Fozeh and her family to flee their home, leaving behind the life they once knew. They faced the harsh reality of displacement and loss. Now, Fozeh lives alone in a small tent in south Amman. Lacking financial support, she has been forced to work as a farmer, but her ability to work has been hin ..read more

In the struggle of finding clean water, women bear the heaviest load “In addition to my duties as a single mother, I have to fetch water three hours away every day,” shares Farasoa, a 38-year-old divorcee raising seven children in the Fokontany of Ambory Andraketalahy, Tsihombe district in southern of Madagascar. While some of her children tend to crops and zebus, Farasoa embarks on a 5km (3 mile) journey every morning, to fetch water from a well by the seaside. She only returns by lunchtime with a bucket on her head, and a 20-litre container in her hands, both filled with water. “I can’t go ..read more

On 15th April 2023, civil war broke out in Sudan between two rival factions of the military government of Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan is a culturally complex country, with its African and Arabic communities overlaid by a tribal structure, all co-existing in the same territory. There have been clashes over many generations and tensions never fully evaporate, so it’s not uncommon for conflict to evolve and social cohesion to disappear. In recent months, the RSF has advanced on a number of major cities, driving significant displac ..read more