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Twins Elisabeth and Sophie, were first treated for measles and then for acute malnutrition at the MSF-supported pediatric unit at the Baboua district Hospital. 

“Nobody had ever come to our village to visit our children, we had never heard of measles before. I have spent my whole life in my village, this is the first time I have come to a hospital” Cecile (mother) says.  

“Elizabeth and Sophie have been the first children in my community who contracted measles: they have been treated with traditional medicine first, we didn’t’ know what they were suffering from. But they were not feeling better and that’s why I brought them to the vaccination, I hoped I could find some help” Cecile explained.

Cécile comes from a very remote village on the axe Galo-Zaoro, where MSF emergency teams carried out a vaccination campaign on 14th/15th March, 2020. During the vaccination MSF teams visited the little twins and referred them to the closest health centre, for a first medical screening, and from there to Baboua, because the little girls presented complications due to measles.
Measles

Measles is a steady, silent killer among COVID-19

While much of the world’s attention is on battling the COVID-19 pandemic, measles continues to silently kill large numbers of mostly children in DRC, CAR and Chad. Project Update - 5 May 2020
 
MSF is supporting the Ministry of Health, through the SAMU’s call centre, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as mobile teams in five communes in Niamey. The aim is to improve the identification and follow-up of COVID-19 confirmed patients.
Niger

Working with communities during a pandemic

MSF medical coordinator in Niger Dr Ann W. Mumina explains why working with communities strengthens our response to coronavirus COVID-19. Interview - 5 May 2020
 
On 16 May 2013, MSF inaugurated a new clinic in Kibera South. The centre offers comprehensive primary healthcare and maternity services integrated with the management of chronic diseases like HIV, targeting one of the most vulnerable populations in Nairobi. The integration of care for chronic diseases with other services enables patients to seek a one-stop service. Often, patients with chronic diseases such as HIV, hypertension or diabetes suffer from more than one pathology. MSF’s integrated approach facilitates the early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of associated pathologies.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

“Diseases will not wait” for COVID-19 in Kenya

Lili-Marie Wangari, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for MSF in Kenya, explains MSF's response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Kenya. Voices from the Field - 5 May 2020
 
“I’d already experienced torture before leaving my country and crossing the sea. I’m using my past experience to help me deal with the pandemic”

Frederic*, who lives in a shared container in a Greek refugee camp, spoke to MSF about how he is coping with lockdown and the threat of COVID-19.

 

“At the start of this coronavirus saga, I thought it’d be all over within a week or two. But after finding out more about the disease and how it was spreading, I realised it was much more serious than I’d thought.

The death toll soared overnight. I hadn’t seen it coming and it caused me a lot of stress. When the number of deaths reached 600-700 in Italy and Spain each day, it took a psychological toll on me. I remember having to talk with my psychologist because I was really scared. 

I heard stories of people who were in good health one day and by the next day they were dead. Doctors and health workers, too, were falling victim to the disease, which seemed to destroy everything in its path.
 
Then the Greek government announced the lockdown. I had to stay in and stop work – my boss asked all of us to stop working. I realised then that the disease would have a real impact on me. I spent a lot of time just thinking about the disease – when it would end, whether I and people close to me would die in the pandemic.

I was thinking about it more and more. A lot of bad thoughts started popping up in my head and I had a lot of flashbacks. I’d suffered enough already and now it seemed the suffering would start again. I wondered how I’d escape it this time. 

I’d already experienced torture before leaving my country and crossing the sea. I’d already experienced a time when I was really sick and worried about my future. I went through this and then, thanks to God, after a long period of medical treatment, I recovered.  

When I recovered, I said to myself that I would use my past experience to help me deal with the pandemic. I realised that the difficulties I had been through in the past were bigger than this pandemic. This is how I convinced myself that the lockdown was no reason to stop me getting through this.

The only time that fear fills me is when I’m confined in my container. In the camp we live five or six to a container. I know that I can’t stop people coming in to see my room-mate and I have no choice but to gesture to people to keep away. But that's all I do.  

 

We have no alternative – this is the only space we have to live. At the same time, we’re aware that there are other people in even greater need – people who have even less space – so we have to make the most of the limited space we have. 

I feel lucky that at least I’m in a camp, with a place to live. We also have a stadium where we can exercise. So I’m in a better position than people confined in apartments with no space to exercise. 

I’m in a recovery process as my knee was injured back in my country. My medical consultation is currently interrupted due to this situation, but my doctor calls me often to check how I’m doing. 

I know that the whole planet is experiencing the same thing, but what’s different for us, as refugees, is that our living conditions, combined with the lockdown and the threat of the virus, impose a double stress. 

 

It's difficult not having people you can talk to. When you don't have people around you that you trust, it's not easy to relax. My psychologist, Zoe, is one of the few people I can really talk to. Since the lockdown started, I’ve talked with her most weeks. 

I’d like to thank all the MSF staff for the help they give us because it’s not easy, really. You can't imagine the difference it makes to have this support.”

*Names have been changed
Greece

Using torture survival skills to cope during a pandemic

Voices from the Field - 5 May 2020
 
 MSF staff and volunteers carry out a COVID-19 hygiene awareness campaign and soap distribution to households in Logan Town, near the capital city, Monrovia. In an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the community, MSF staff are using megaphones and handing out pamphlets, advising people to wash their hands regularly, respect social distancing and avoid touching their faces.

Location: Logan Town, Monrovia, Liberia
Liberia

MSF supports efforts to treat COVID-19 in Liberia

Iline Celeen is the MSF Emergency Project Coordinator in Liberia, working on the COVID-19 response in the country and outlines what we’re doing in this interview. Interview - 4 May 2020
 
Health promotion activities at asylum seekers camp in Matamoros
United States of America

MSF demands US end deportations to stop COVID-19 spread to fragile health systems

MSF has demanded the US cease all deportations, a process that is moving people from the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic to lower transmission countries and which will exacerbate a public health crisis in the region. Press Release - 4 May 2020
 
MSF staff member squeezes out the last drop of vaccine for a young child.
Vaccination

Overcoming barriers so vaccines can save lives

Vaccines can save lives but we need to overcome barriers - such as logistics and high prices - to get them to people first. Project Update - 29 Apr 2020
 
Switzerland, COVID-19 patients in Intensive care unit of HUG. MSF nurse Kathrine Zimmermann supports the intensive care unit of the Geneva University Hospitals for people with COVID-19. April 14, 2020. ©Nora Teylouni / MSF.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Overwhelming, lonely, stressful – life in a COVID-19 unit in Geneva

Nurse Kathrine Zimmerman, whose day job is at MSF's Geneva headquarters, recently spent six weeks in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Geneva's main hospital and shares her experience. Voices from the Field - 27 Apr 2020
 
A mobile team from MSF is giving a briefing to the staff of the retirement home "Résidence Christalain", in Jette, Brussels.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Why protecting and supporting staff in care homes during COVID-19 is so vital

Stephanie Goublomme is coordinating MSF’s COVID-19 response in care homes in Brussels, Belgium. She explains what her teams have seen and why it's so important to support care home staff. Voices from the Field - 24 Apr 2020
 
El equipo de MSF visita la Residencia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes de El Royo (Soria).  //  MSF in the elderly care home (Residencia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes) in El Royo, Soria province.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Out of view, but not out of mind: MSF's response to COVID-19 in care homes

COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll in care homes for elderly people, who need a special level of care. MSF are training care home staff to help cope with the increased needs. Project Update - 24 Apr 2020
Four mothers posing in a corridor of the Hospital in Bili. All four of them are staying in the hospital with their child, that's suffering from a severe case of malaria. Since the beginning of the project in 2016, the pediatric ward already treated more than 4.000 cases of complicated/severe form of malaria.
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.

Learn more