Malaria - MSF's frustrating challenge

Most of Dr Jorge Arturo Gonzalez Duran's day is spent meeting with patients. On a typical day, he meets with hundreds of people who wait for hours to see him. It is not uncommon for many patients to start out when it is dark in the early morning to reach the clinic. Here he performes a malaria test for a patient who complained of aches and a fever.
In the last few weeks a new disease made the media spotlight. The Marburg virus, which has killed over 200 people in Angola, has all the drama of a Hollywood film. Meanwhile, out of the media spotlight, another disease continues, silently, to kill up to two million people every year. Malaria remains the biggest source of the illnesses faced by MSF, and is one of our most frustrating challenges. Project Update - 13 May 2005

Indonesia

MSF fights malaria outbreak on islands in Indonesia

"If we manage to successfully limit the infestation by mosquitoes and give prompt and effective treatment to the sick, we can literally help the community get back on their feet." - MSF doctor Project Update - 13 May 2005

HIV/AIDS

STI crisis in the West: Fuelling AIDS in Côte d’Ivoire

The civil war and subsequent collapse of the healthcare system have provoked a medical crisis in parts of Ivory Coast. Responding over the past two years to high levels of malaria, malnutrition and other diseases, MSF teams in the West of the country have encountered an alarmingly high number of sexually transmitted infections ("STIs"). Report - 27 Apr 2005

India

The future of generic medicines made in India

Prognosis: Short-term relief, long-term pain. The long-term impact of the Indian Patent Act is bad news for those relying on affordable new medicines - in MSF's own HIV/AIDS projects, for instance, approximately 70% of all patients currently take generic ARV medicines made in India. Worldwide, an estimated 350,000 people on ARV treatment depend on Indian generic production - that's half of all those on ARVs in developing countries. Project Update - 21 Apr 2005

Angola

Stronger measures needed in Marburg Fever outbreak in Angola

Marburg Fever continues to spread in the Angolan province of Uige. To date, the official deathtoll stands at 235, with 257 reported cases. Biological tests carried out by the WHO confirmed on March 22 the presence of the virus. Since then, 114 new cases have been identified, 107 of which have proved fatal. Project Update - 20 Apr 2005

Tuberculosis

World TB Day 2005: Development of simple and rapid diagnostic tools key for fighting tuberculosis

MSF is committed to participating to the development of new tests by assessing the feasibility of new technology in our field projects. Press Release - 15 Apr 2005

Niger

Alarming increase in malnutrition in Niger

In our Maradi programme in south-east Niger, the number of children arriving with severe malnutrition continues to climb. In 2004, MSF treated nearly 10,000 cases and, since the beginning of this year, the situation has deteriorated: in the villages where MSF has recently visited, one out of every five children is at risk of malnutrition. Project Update - 12 Apr 2005

Guatemala

New Guatemalan law and intellectual property provisions in DR-CAFTA threaten access to affordable medicines

The majority of patients in MSF's treatment programmes are prescribed generic ARVs, whereas Guatemala's social security system has spent 20 times more for some originator drugs. Press Release - 11 Mar 2005

Sudan

The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur

A briefing paper by Médecins Sans Frontières International Women's Day 8 March 2005. Report - 8 Mar 2005

HIV/AIDS

Global AIDS treatment efforts not on track

Since July 2004, only 260,000 new patients have benefited from ARV therapy in developing countries. Treatment expansion is moving at a snail's pace. From the perspective of a medical humanitarian organisation working in resource-poor countries to treat people with AIDS, the global picture is bleak. PEPFAR could be treating thousands more people with the funds it is spending. Press Release - 28 Jan 2005

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

We provide medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff - most of them hired locally. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence and impartiality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation.

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