© Olivier Asselin

A new, ten-year, multi-billion dollar action plan for global vaccination may fail to deliver if it does not directly address the weaknesses in routine immunisation programmes. Nineteen million children are being missed each year and this challenge must be explicitly addressed, the medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today.

© MSF

Wounded people and medical workers are still being targeted and threatened in Syria. MSF insists that all parties to the conflict must fully respect the physical integrity of wounded people, doctors and healthcare facilities. MSF calls for increased political and diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety of patients and medical workers, without the use of force.

An international conference on the Zamfara lead poisoning crisis, of which Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was the lead organiser, concluded on Thursday. The conference delegates endorsed a clear action plan calling for Nigerian government commitment to resolve the crisis.

© Sandra Smiley/MSF

MSF’s health centres and hospitals have observed a marked increase in the number of patients with malaria, including severe malaria. In six provinces, the number of people treated for malaria in MSF projects has risen by 250 per cent since 2009. The rise has been particularly sharp in recent months. An alarmingly high number of patients with severe malaria require hospitalisation and urgent blood transfusions.