Disasters such as the war in Gaza and the earthquake in Myanmar have dominated news headlines lately, with teams from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) immersed in each crisis providing on-the-ground medical and humanitarian assistance.
MSF is now sharing stories of its life-saving efforts from around the world with Hongkongers at a new, interactive exhibition at The Wai shopping mall in Tai Wai, which opened on Saturday, July 5.
It runs until Friday, July 11, coinciding with Monday’s 7.7 MSF Day, which urges the public to stand in solidarity with the organisation’s frontline workers. The annual event calls upon supporters to help ensure MSF’s independence and its capacity to respond to medical needs without outside interference.
120 armed conflicts, 400 natural disasters
Established more than half a century ago, MSF is currently supplying aid workers and responding in more than 70 countries around the globe – based solely on medical needs of people and free from political, economic or religious powers.
Apart from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and the earthquake in Myanmar – which most Hongkongers will know of – there were also over 120 armed conflicts around the world last year alone.
Nearly 400 natural disasters – many driven by the climate crisis – ravaged the lives of 160 million people globally in 2024, and millions more were threatened by preventable and treatable diseases.
The interactive exhibition is entitled “Lifesaving Without Pause” and provides a timely reminder of some of the most significant disasters and crises around the globe in recent years, each of which necessitated humanitarian support. It showcases how MSF workers – some of whom are from Hong Kong – provided crucial assistance in response to various crises.
The exhibition’s opening ceremony on Saturday was officiated by the organisation’s senior executives and its board president and nurse, Chiu Cheuk-pong. A children’s a cappella group and local busker Alfred Wu also performed live on stage.
“I heard from the news about events like Gaza, Myanmar, or things like malaria, but I’m now finding out that MSF has done a lot on these issues.”
Exhibition visitor Ms Lam.
More than a third of MSF’s projects are in areas of armed conflict, such as Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti, according to the exhibition.
MSF provides lifesaving medical care in conflict zones around the world, treating the people impacted by the violence and providing support and capacity to local health care providers and to facilities that have been fractured or overburdened by war.
In 2023, MSF treated over 70,000 people for cholera and vaccinated 36,000. There were over 500,000 reported cases worldwide, which led to over 4,000 deaths in 45 countries in 2023 – a 70 per cent jump from the previous year.
Malaria, meanwhile, claimed nearly 600,000 lives in 83 countries in 2023. MSF treated more than 3.7 million malaria patients that year.
“I heard from the news about events like Gaza, Myanmar, or things like malaria, but I’m now finding out that MSF has done a lot on these issues,” one exhibition visitor, Ms Lam, told HKFP in Cantonese on Saturday.
Aid funding critical amid government retreat
MSF’s work has become much more critical after the US government pulled the plug on its international aid funding. Millions of vulnerable populations are at further risk as a result of reduced financial aid, said Chiu, president of MSF Hong Kong.
MSF is completely independent of any government or political body, and over 98 per cent of its budget derives from donations by ordinary individuals. Financial independence and MSF’s commitment to impartiality and neutrality have allowed it to operate in places where any political or military affiliation can be a liability.
The war in Gaza, which has been raging on for almost two years, has displaced some 90 per cent of the population and led to over 54,000 deaths.
Chiu called for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, as well as an end to the widespread killing, destruction of infrastructure, and blockades of humanitarian aid. Dozens of visitors to the exhibition declared, each with a sticker, that they supported a ceasefire in Gaza. MSF has also launched an online campaign calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
Three frontline aid workers, including Chiu, shared their personal experiences working for MSF abroad.
Chiu said he had an assignment in the refugee camp in Bangladesh and participated in the response to Ebola outbreaks in Liberia. He demonstrated how medics would treat those with severe and acute malnutrition with sachets of emergency nutrients, and explained how he and other medics weighed personal risks when confronted with the deadly Ebola virus.
“But advances in present-day logistics and transportation mean we can’t claim to be outsiders in any outbreak. It can come to our own door in less than 24 hours,” he said in Cantonese.
People from Hong Kong are part of MSF lifesavings works worldwide, including nurses, midwives, doctors, anaesthetists, and other logistics and support staff. They shared their experiences through the exhibition.
“[M]any MSF frontline staff are working as logisticians,” wrote Vincent Li, a Hongkonger and member of the MSF logistics staff featured on one of the exhibition boards. ‘When medical professionals encounter technical issues related to power supply, tools or equipment, it falls on the logistics personnel to back them up.”
As wars and disasters rage on without pause around the world, so continues MSF’s commitment in each location. A children’s a cappella group called Little by Little Kids – complete with a talented mini beatboxer – performed the song “Try Everything” to represent MSF workers’ perseverance in spite of difficulties.
Music can be a powerful therapeutic and comforting tool, transcending language and borders. “When people are exhausted by drastic changes, we use moving songs and musical instruments to soothe their trauma,” the exhibition reads.
Event details
- Location: L2 Atrium, The Wai, Tai Wai.
- Tickets: Free.
- Date & Time: July 5 to 11, 2025, from 10am to 10pm.
This content was paid for by Médecins Sans Frontières.
