The unexpected power of play: Healing children in humanitarian crises

In almost any humanitarian crisis – from disease outbreaks to conflict zones – children are among the most vulnerable. Last year alone, almost half of all patients admitted to MSF hospitals around the world were children under the age of five. But, while access to medical care is absolutely essential, for our youngest patients, there is something else that improves their health, promotes recovery and helps them develop: play. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we speak to Katherine Haciömeroğlu. She is a child life specialist who has been working with MSF teams around the world to harness the power of play and help children living through healthcare crises to access the benefits of this perhaps unexpected humanitarian work. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Photo: MSF

The artist and political cartoonist Ella Baron has recently returned from Ukraine, where she worked with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) patients to create a series of drawings and interviews about their experiences. The patients ranged from young men injured in drone attacks to grandmothers who have lost their homes and loved ones. The images go beyond simple portraits to explore the physical and emotional impact of the war. With the works now on display in a public exhibition at Kings College in London, Ella joins us for a special episode. Ella was in Ukraine on assignment for the Guardian, where her drawings were originally published. MSF teams were already working in Ukraine at the time of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Since then we have expanded our operations to cover mobile clinics, surgery, and mental health support. To support MSF’s work in Ukraine and around the world, sign up as a regular donor or make a one-off gift.

In February 2022, Yuliia Trofimova was a journalist living in Eastern Ukraine, where she’s from. With the violent escalation of the conflict with Russia, Yuliia and her colleagues in local media became war correspondents overnight. Today, Yuliia works as a field communications officer for MSF, travelling throughout the region to raise awareness of the health impacts of the war and the work of MSF’s medical, surgical and mental health teams as they provide essential care to people caught in the conflict.

War has taken a heavy toll on the people of Syria. Since 2011, 14 million Syrians have had to flee the violence that wracked the country. They left behind their homes and livelihoods. Essential infrastructure has been destroyed, and many Syrians have been plunged into poverty, with very limited access to essential services like medical care. But late last year, the situation shifted, and MSF teams were able to travel to areas that had previously been inaccessible. Dr Ryan McHenry is an emergency medicine doctor who recently returned from the Syria. He joins us today to share his experiences in a country emerging from the shadows of war. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF

When a crisis hits, our emergency specialists - known as the E-Team - launch into life-saving action to coordinate the response. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we speak to Dr Natalie Roberts. Now Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK, she is an experienced emergency doctor and former Head of Emergencies with our Paris-based 'Emergency Desk'. We speak to her about the work of the E-Team, how they react to emerging conflicts and disasters, and reflect on the humanitarian events she worked through, including typhoons and civil wars. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to make a donation. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF

In places where MSF operates, getting access to the right antibiotics is a matter of life or death. Antibiotics are the cornerstone of modern medicine, treating a vast range of infections. But, over the last few years we've been seeing a troubling phenomenon where the standard antibiotics used to treat some diseases have simply stopped working. This is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is when some of the bugs which cause disease mutate and find ways to avoid the effective elements of antibiotic medicines. What can be done when this happens and what steps is MSF taking to tackle AMR more broadly? We speak to AMR expert Mohamad Khalife. Presented by Laura McCullough Edited by Kate Lee and Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF

In the latest episode of Everyday Emergency, we’re looking at the humanitarian crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC – a huge country in Central Africa that’s home to around one hundred and eleven million people. The northeast of the country has endured decades of insecurity since the fallout of the 1994 genocide in the neighbouring country of Rwanda. Driven by ethnic tensions and a fight for resources, the conflict involves more than one hundred armed groups, such as the widely-known M23, as well as Congolese government forces and UN peacekeepers. The most recent phase of the conflict has been rapidly evolving, and intensified since December 2024. It has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and resulted in many casualties and violent injuries across the provinces of North and South Kivu. Tragically, MSF staff members have also lost their lives. To learn more about what’s been happening, and how MSF has responded, we spoke to Juliette Seguin, MSF’s Emergency Coordinator in Goma, DRC's capital city in the east of the country. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Kate Lee Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF

Two years ago, MSF doctor Javid Abdelmoneim received a cryptic message from his cousin in Khartoum that said "Your dad is safe". But safe from what? On 15 April 2023, a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. From early attacks around the capital Khartoum, the fighting quickly escalated and spread to other parts of Sudan. Almost overnight, millions of people found themselves trapped in a conflict. Now, two years on, the situation is both shocking and complex. Sudan has become the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 12 million people forced from their homes. Many are without access to essential healthcare, and there have been widespread outbreaks of diseases like cholera and measles. Meanwhile, the number of people suffering from malnutrition, or women and children dying is truly alarming. Throughout all of this, people – civilians – have been subjected to horrific violence. The United Nations recently described this situation in Sudan as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we speak to Dr Javid Abdelmoneim who recently returned from an assignment in the crisis-hit country. He is an emergency medicine specialist, and an extremely experienced MSF doctor who also spent the first eight years of his life growing up in Sudan. His story is deeply personal, at times upsetting, but incredibly powerful. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Cece Leadon Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF

In crisis zones across the world, hospitals have been attacked, supply trucks blockaded and funding cut. So, what is the state of humanitarian aid today? In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we’re speaking to Chris Lockyear – the Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF). He’s one of the leading voices in MSF, and an expert on humanitarian aid and the crises we currently face. We sat down with Chris after a recent visit to Sudan, where MSF teams are operating in what has been dubbed a ‘humanitarian void’ despite more than 11 million people being forced from their homes by the civil war. We also spoke about the situation in Gaza following the desperately needed ceasefire, and about the dangerous and far-reaching consequences of the aid cuts recently announced by governments including the UK and USA. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Nick Owen Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF

At a groundbreaking hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman, a dedicated team from Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) work to treat and rehabilitate war-wounded people from conflict zones across the Middle East and North Africa. Rula Marafeh, an experienced physiotherapist, shares her story from a unique project that has been saving and transforming lives since 2006. In places such as Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and Syria, as violence pushes healthcare systems to breaking point, MSF works to evacuate patients in need of the most specialist care. Once in Amman, a spectrum of expert teams work to surgically reconstruct limbs, treat aggressive infections, teach patients to use their new bodies, and crucially, heal the unseen trauma each new arrival carries with them. If you would like to support our life-saving medical work around the world, please visit msf.org.uk to donate. Thank you. Presented by Amber Dowell Edited by Sandy McKee Produced by Mark Lankester Photo: MSF/Peter Bräunig