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An Afghan doctor explains his commitment to providing essential healthcare services to people who have fled their homes due to conflict in Afghanistan, but safety fears mean that his future and that of his colleagues, particularly women health workers, is uncertain.

In the southern region of Madagascar, hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from one of the worst droughts in the region in 40 years. In the town of Amboasary Atsimo, for example, about 75 per cent of the population is facing severe hunger and 14,000 people are on the brink of famine. UN Resident Coordinator Issa Sanogo recently visited the region, where the population is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.  

Indonesia, like many of countries in South East Asia, had until recently been successful in mitigating the worst health impacts of COVID-19; some form of physical distancing measures have long been in place. Since taking up my post here in October 2020, I’ve only met most of my colleagues on screen and have almost entirely avoided Jakarta’s notorious traffic jams. Still, the non-health impacts of the pandemic are stark.

On August 4th, 2020, a devastating blast in a warehouse destroyed much of the centre of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Many neighbourhoods were destroyed, downtown Beirut looked like a war zone. Thousands were injured and some 200 people tragically lost their lives on that day and the days that followed. For many, their property and livelihoods were literally blown away.