In 2022, MSF teams around the world continued to respond to crises, old and new. While COVID-19 was not the emergency it was in previous years, new challenges arose. The war in Ukraine escalated in February; the political, humanitarian and economic crises in Haiti deteriorated severely; cholera emerged on an exceptional scale in several countries. 

When Mary*, a 15-year-old school student in Monrovia, Liberia, started having epileptic seizures last year, it was frightening and confusing for her and everyone around her. The Médecins Sans Frontières-supported epilepsy treatment program at Star of the Sea Health Centre has helped her family and community understand the condition so that Mary can draw on their support to stay in school. 

When 14-year-old Peter* started having epileptic seizures, a misdiagnosis only made things worse, and his mother feared he wouldn’t be able to return to school. Now on regular treatment, Peter looks forwarding to fulfilling his own dreams for the future, and his mother’s for him. 

In the MSF Children’s Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, critically ill children are treated year-round. Many suffer life-threatening complications of malaria—like Paul B. Morris Junior, who arrived unconscious. Paul’s mother Lydia and the team who treated him share his story. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for mental health and epilepsy patients in Liberia, leading to greater social isolation and, in some cases, disrupting treatment.