Everyday Emergency

In this episode of Everyday Emergency we hear about the lived experience of Venezuelan women bearing the brunt of their country's healthcare crisis and the difficulties they continue to face in Colombia. An estimated 4 million Venezuelans have left their country since the collapse of its political and economic systems, and at least 1.4 million have come to neighbouring Colombia. They are coming from a country where, over the last few years, most people had no access to medicines and essential health services were entirely out of reach. Now in Colombia, they often face the same problem. Legally entitled to receive emergency medical care from the Colombian health system, those services are limited to vaccinations, immediate lifesaving treatment, and deliveries — and many migrants report being turned away from receiving these. MSF Producer, Mandy White reports from our clinics in the La Guajira region of Colombia. --- Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter.

Yemen is in the grip of war. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world. British anaesthetist Dr Elma Wong has recently returned from her fourth assignment working in the country with MSF. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we talk to Elma about her time in Mocha, a town on the west coast of Yemen. It sits around halfway between the port cities of Hodeidah to the north and Aden to the south, and our emergency medical centre is the only one of its kind in the area. To support our teams working in Yemen, visit: https://msf.me/yemenpodcast To find out more about the crisis, visit: https://stories.msf.org.uk/yemen-explained/

In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we take a look at one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times. The Rohingya are a group of people who have lived for centuries in Myanmar. Due to their ethnicity, they are denied citizenship and are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Violence and oppression has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to countries neighbouring Myanmar, either by land or sea, over the course of many decades. But in August 2017, a brutal campaign of violence by the Myanmar government killed more than 6,500 Rohingya, including at least 430 children under five years old. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh joining more than 200,000 who have been living in the squalid camps, some for many years. In this episode, we hear from three MSF staff who have been working in the Rohingya megacamp in the Cox’s Bazar area of southeast Bangladesh over the past year. Nurse Chrissie McVeigh describes her experience running a campaign to vaccinate more than 350,000 Rohingya children against diphtheria. Water and sanitation specialist Ryan Bellingham describes his work as part of MSF’s emergency team setting up clean water sources in the complex camp. And nurse Sunny La Valle describes her first assignment with MSF running health posts to provide much needed care for the Rohingya. If you would like to help our work providing vital medical care for the Rohingya, please consider giving to our Rohingya appeal: https://msf.me/2rnffXT

In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we hear from three MSF medics who have been working in the Syrian city of Raqqa. A former stronghold of the so-called Islamic State, Raqqa is littered with improvised explosive devices and remnants of war that are causing dire consequences for people returning to the city. Doctors Javid Abdelmoneim and Pippa Pett, along with nurse Michael Shek, helped to establish a trauma stabilisation unit in the east of Raqqa. The role of the unit is to save lives in the crucial minutes after trauma. In this episode, Javid, Pippa and Michael describe their first impressions of the city, what it was like to run a trauma unit from a suburban house, and how children with a little known disease are finally getting the help they need. Find out more about the topics discussed here: https://msf.me/2Henlwn --- Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

Nina Rajani, a doctor from London, has just returned from Iraq. On this week's episode, Nina explains what it took to treat people caught between the vicious spiral of violent conflict and poor health. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

In the latest episode of our Everyday Emergency podcast, we speak to Emily Gilbert. An MSF project coordinator from London, Emily has spent her entire career working in conflict zones. Whether she’s in the Middle East or Central Africa, Emily’s main roles are to make sure her team is safe and that the project she’s managing runs as smoothly as possible. With a typical MSF project having 4-12 international and up to 200 local staff, it's by no means an easy job. In this episode, Emily also discusses a common problem many humanitarian workers deal with: balancing working in far-flung places and maintaining relationships back home. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

"You’ve got to be in a really, really awful situation to think ‘yes, I’m going to put my nine-month old child onto this rubber boat, because that’s the best option to me at the moment’." Last month, our host spent time on Aquarius, a search and rescue ship MSF operates alongside SOS Méditerranée. During his time on the ship as a communications officer, Nick captured the sounds of life on board - including the rescue of 560 people from four inflatable rubber boats. That rescue would also be the last of Dr Conor Kenny's three month assignment on Aquarius. Listen to the last episode for Conor's account of that assignment. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

Our regular host, Nick Owen, is somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean sea this week. He's on board the Aquarius doing search and rescue with Dr Connor Kenny. The pair are going to be capturing a live rescue for the next episode. In the meantime, we're going to take a look back at an episode featuring Connor from Series 1. He's being interviewed about his time in Greece caring for refugees and talking about the eviction he witnessed of thousands of refugees from a camp in the village of Idomeni. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

On this week's episode of our Everyday Emergency podcast, we meet Besh, a Kurdish asylum seeker living in London, UK. Besh and his family lived peacefully in a village just outside Mosul, raising livestock on their farm. In June 2014, everything changed. ISIS captured Mosul. The Iraqi army withdrew. And the militant group were headed straight for their village. Fleeing for their lives, Besh, his mother, and young brothers were forced to head for Turkey. After crossing the sea to Greece, the police separated the boys from their mother. What followed is an extraordinary journey across 70 camps in Europe, by a young man determined to reunite his family. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

"I wasn't prepared. It left a scar. It was the first time I was exposed to so much avoidable death." On this week's episode of our Everyday Emergency podcast, we meet Javid Abdelmoneim, an emergency doctor living in London, UK. Five months into his second assignment with MSF responding to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the job was taking it’s toll on Javid. But just before things would get worse, a patient handed him a letter that changed his outlook and gave him the strength to carry on. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

* Please be advised that this episode deals with sensitive issues relating to sexual violence and may be unsuitable for some listeners. In our latest episode of Everday Emergency, we meet Courtney Bercan - an MSF nurse who worked on one of our search and rescue ships in the Mediterranean. In this episode we hear a story written by Courtney while on board, about a patient whose story still haunts her. We invited Courtney to sit down with us and discuss her time on the ship, and how the stories of the people she's met affected her. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

Elizabeth Wangeci's story is a remarkable one. Against the odds, Elizabeth, from Nairobi, was the first person to survive one of the deadliest forms of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Kenya. In the first episode of the second series of Everyday Emergency, on World TB Day 2017 we speak to Elizabeth nearly one year after being cured. We also hear from Mark Sherlock, an MSF TB doctor who works not far from Elizabeth in Nairobi. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

The 3rd of October will be remembered as one of the darkest days in MSF's history. On this day in 2015, US airstrikes killed 42 people and destroyed the MSF trauma hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. In this special episode of Everyday Emergency, we look back on the attack one year on with Dr Kass Thomas – an intensive care specialist from Australia – who was in the hospital on the night of the attack. Visit msf.org.uk/kunduzpodcast to hear more from Kass. If you feel compelled to act after listening to this post, visit our #NotATarget page: msf.org.uk/notatarget To find out more about the Kunduz attack, visit: msf.org.uk/kunduz "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk

In our tenth and final edition of this series, we follow on from where our Mediterranean search and rescue episode left off. We speak to Conor Kenny, a doctor who has been caring for refugees in Greece. Conor also talks about the eviction he witnessed of thousands of refugees from a camp in the village of Idomeni. We'll be back with a fresh new series in early 2017 (and a few special editions in between) so make sure to stay subscribed. "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk MUSIC CREDITS: Cylinder Two by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/ Minor With Cricket by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/ The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/honor/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/ If not listed above, all other tracks used in this podcast are attribution free. If you would like information about specific tracks, or would like your own music music to be featured in our podcast, please message us through Soundcloud.

Working in five countries in the last two years, from fighting cholera in South Sudan to helping migrants and refugees in Greece, it's fair to say Pierre Trbovic has seen his fair share of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders' (MSF) work. According to Pierre, the hardest job he had to do as an MSF anthropologist and health promoter was stand on the gates of our ELWA 3 Ebola management centre in Monrovia, Liberia. Pierre voluntarily took on the job of telling people suffering with the virus that, at the peak of the crisis in August/September 2014, our centre was full; many people had to be turned away. In the ninth episode of Everyday Emergency, we listen to an article written by Pierre for the Guardian and hear from him first-hand about what compelled him to do the job. For more on MSF's response to the Ebola crisis and information on the centre Pierre worked in, visit: http://msf.me/2ayWnfI "Everyday Emergency" is a podcast from MSF. In each episode, we bring you true stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world. From the conflict in Syria to the refugee crisis in Europe, we’ll be talking to people with some incredible stories that may just change your outlook on life, or at least, for a moment, put things into perspective. In each podcast you’ll hear a true story written by an MSFer on the ground, read by an actor. We’ll then get them into the studio at MSF HQ for a chat about their time with MSF. Subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast provider, and find out more at msf.org.uk/podcasts Please leave comments on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. facebook.com/msf.english twitter.com/msf_uk