Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) works in war and crisis zones where health systems have collapsed. In early November 2026 the organisation is reporting above all on preventable diseases in Sudan, restricted care for survivors of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo and attacks on hospitals in Ukraine. An overview of the key reports (as of 5 November 2026).
Sudan: children are dying of vaccine-preventable diseases
On 4 November 2026, MSF called for routine vaccination in Darfur to be restored. Within around two years, its teams there treated almost 30,000 people for diseases a vaccine could have prevented. Between January 2024 and April 2026, MSF-supported facilities in four Darfur states recorded more than 28,000 measles cases and almost 2,000 cases of whooping cough. 75 percent of measles patients were unvaccinated and 69 percent were children under five.
The reason: in Central Darfur, routine vaccination largely stopped in 2023 because power cuts and supply shortages broke the cold chain. According to MSF, 37 percent of health facilities in Sudan are no longer functional. Violence adds to this: a drone strike on Nyala in South Darfur at the end of October killed at least 36 people and injured around 150; MSF teams treated the wounded at the city’s teaching hospital.
DR Congo: barriers for survivors of sexual violence
In North Kivu province, the de facto authorities introduced new rules in early 2026: only people with visible injuries who first report to the police and come within 72 hours of the assault are to receive care. According to MSF, health workers have been threatened with suspension or prison. In August 2026, 41 percent fewer survivors sought care at MSF-supported facilities than in January. “A fall in reported cases does not mean that sexual violence is decreasing,” the organisation stresses. In 2025, MSF treated more than 53,000 survivors of sexual violence across the country.
Ebola in eastern Congo: young children at particular risk
In northeastern DR Congo (North Kivu and Ituri), Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus has been spreading for months. In North Kivu, almost one in four confirmed cases is a child under five. At MSF’s Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, 80 percent of children with the disease died between June and September 2026. MSF is calling for children to be prioritised in all studies of medicines and vaccines against the Bundibugyo virus; child-appropriate doses and formulations are currently lacking. A study is to clarify whether the existing Ebola vaccine ERVEBO also protects against this virus. In early October, Kenya confirmed its first case; MSF is supporting preparedness and training there.
South Sudan: 150,000 displaced people losing care
Because of aid cuts, around 150,000 displaced people in the Bentiu and Malakal camps risk losing access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation. In Bentiu, according to an MSF assessment, about 60 people share one functioning latrine. Since 2024, South Sudan has recorded almost 110,000 cholera cases and 1,970 deaths. In September 2026, MSF and the Ministry of Health vaccinated more than 100,000 people in Bentiu against cholera.
Ukraine: hospital in Dnipro damaged
A Russian attack on Dnipro on 3 November 2026 damaged, among other buildings, a hospital treating almost 100 patients; MSF moved two of them by ambulance to other hospitals. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, WHO has verified more than 3,400 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine. During a temporary ceasefire at the end of October, MSF was able to supply three frontline villages in the Kherson region with medicines for three months.
Gaza: surgeon detained for two years
MSF is calling for the immediate release of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mohammed Obeid. He was arrested on 26 October 2024 while working at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and has been held without charge ever since. Despite the ceasefire, the organisation says the situation in Gaza remains very difficult.
What the reports have in common
Whether vaccination gaps in Sudan, cholera risk in South Sudan or barriers for survivors in Congo: many of the deaths MSF reports could be prevented with basic care – vaccines, clean water and free access to treatment. Increasingly, the money for this is missing, and health facilities themselves become targets in conflicts.
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Note: Medizin Aktuell is editorially independent and not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders. This article is for general information.
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Sources
- MSF: Sudan – Routine immunisation must be restored in Darfur (04.11.2026)
- MSF: Dozens killed and 150 injured in Nyala drone strike (27.10.2026)
- MSF: DRC – Restrictive measures obstruct care for sexual violence survivors in North Kivu (02.11.2026)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: DR Congo – young children disproportionately affected by Ebola (16.10.2026, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Study on ERVEBO protection against Bundibugyo virus (21.09.2026, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Ebola confirmed in Kenya (07.10.2026, in German)
- MSF: South Sudan – Funding cuts leave 150,000 displaced people at risk (04.11.2026)
- MSF: Ukraine – Patients evacuated from hospital damaged in Dnipro (03.11.2026)
- MSF: Israel must release MSF surgeon after two years of arbitrary detention (05.11.2026)
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