10 photos that moved us in 2017

  • An empty orthopaedic centre in Afghanistan
    An empty orthopaedic centre in Afghanistan
    This training room has been devoid of patients since the 11 September tragic death of 38 year old ICRC physiotherapist Lorena Enebral Perez who was shot dead at the Mazar-e-Sharif ICRC Orthopaedic Centre. The centre caters for the rehabilitation of Afghans with severe physical disabilities like amputations and paraplegia as well as those suffering from congenital diseases with physical side effects like polio and cerebral palsy.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Andrew Quilty
  • Waiting in Toumour, Niger
    Waiting in Toumour, Niger
    People wait for food distribution in an ICRC camp in Toumour where 47,000 Nigerian refugees and internally displaced Nigeriens took shelter in southeastern Niger. According to a recent UN report, 2.3 million people have been displaced in Lake Chad Basin and 129,000 Nigeriens have been internally displaced since 2015.
    Magnum Photos for ICRC / Emin Ozmen
  • Searching for Olga
    Searching for Olga
    Olga Edelmira Romero Medina disappeared eight years ago. But her sixty year old mother Dilma Pilar Escobar continues to search for her till date. The 36 year old left Honduras in October 2009, leaving her five children behind with her mother. There has been no word from her since.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Kathryn Cook
  • The battle for Mosul
    The battle for Mosul
    Characterized by intense, street-by-street, house-to-house fighting, the battle for Mosul initially seemed to avoid large-scale destruction. But as casualties rose, the cost for civilians became increasingly unbearable.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Andre Liohn
  • At rest in South Sudan
    At rest in South Sudan
    A young boy rests in his canoe on the Nile near Detwok, South Sudan, in August 2017.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin
  • Fleeing violence in Myanmar
    Fleeing violence in Myanmar
    More than 626,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and are now living in camps and settlements in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh. This large-scale humanitarian crisis, which continues to escalate, puts pressure on aid agencies and communities already helping hundreds of thousands of people from previous waves of violence in Myanmar.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Mahmud Hossain Opu
  • Darkness in Gaza
    Darkness in Gaza
    A photography competition organized by our team gave a sneak peek into how young Gazans lead their lives while waiting for long overdue political solutions. These young photographers showed that life in Gaza is much more than crises, fences, isolation and suffering.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Mahmoud Issa
  • A nurse and her patient
    A nurse and her patient
    A child receives medical care from an ICRC nurse outside Mosul, Iraq.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Ibrahim Sherkhan
  • Devastation in Aleppo
    Devastation in Aleppo
    In 2016, eastern Aleppo in Syria was subjected to a siege that lasted 190 days. The fighting has left the city in ruins.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Sana Tarabishi
  • A hideous milestone in Yemen
    A hideous milestone in Yemen
    Cholera has ravaged Yemen as the country reached a record one million suspected cases in 2017. With the country’s health-care system decimated by two years of war, health-care workers are struggling to cope.
    CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Ralph El Hage
22 December 2017

Our teams on the ground are at the forefront of the world's worst humanitarian crises. They witness both harrowing and moving moments in real life on a daily basis. Our photo team looks back at some of the most powerful and moving photos of 2017.