Before the bombing: High burden of traumatic injuries in Kunduz Trauma Center, Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Background: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been providing healthcare in Afghanistan since 1981 including specialized health services for trauma patients in Kunduz Trauma Center (KTC) from 2011. On October 3rd, 2015, a US airstrike hit the KTC, killing 42 people including 14 MSF staff. This study aims to demonstrate the impact on healthcare provision, after hospital destruction, by assessing the extent of care provided for trauma and injuries by the MSF KTC and to report on treatment outcomes from January 2014 to June 2015, three months prior to the bombing.

Averted health burden over 4 years at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Trauma Centre in Kunduz, Afghanistan, prior to its closure in 2015.

Background: On October 3, 2015, a United States airstrike hit Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) Trauma Centre in Kunduz, Afghanistan. Our aim was to describe the care provided and estimate the health burden averted by surgical care at the hospital. We also report the benefit rendered by the Trauma Centre to the health of the local population prior to its destruction.