Kiribati, a country spread across dozens of atolls in the central Pacific, is one of the most remote and geographically dispersed countries in the world. It is also one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of the climate crisis.
The people of Kiribati (known as i-Kiribati) face a triple threat to their health: communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, and the health impacts of climate change.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in Kiribati since October 2022, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, to improve maternal and pediatric care. An MSF medical team is working alongside ministry of health staff to provide pediatric and maternal health care in the country’s main hospital and to help build capacity among local health staff.
An MSF team has also worked on the outer islands, training nurses on neonatal care and screening for women who have high-risk pregnancies due to the very high rates of gestational diabetes.