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.

Since late January, some 57,000 Malians have entered the Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania. Refugee numbers are steadily increasing, from 200 arrivals on April 5 to 1,500 a day. In response to this massive influx, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is bolstering its activities and emergency medical aid in this desert area, where access to medical care is extremely limited.

The annual "hunger season" seems likely to be particularly serious in the Sahel this year, and a few regions may face acute nutritional crises in the coming months. MSF is expanding its nutritional activities to address the seasonal “peak” in malnutrition rates, while also developing longer-term approaches to be integrated into regular programs.