Ten Stories that Mattered in Access to Medicines in 2011

This report looks at developments in 2011 that had an impact, both positive or negative, on people’s ability to access drugs, diagnostics and vaccines in developing countries. It also looks at key policy developments of the year, such as the unprecedented funding shortfalls at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Report - 22 Dec 2011

Refugees, IDPs and people on the move

Sweet Sixty?

As the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees turns 60, refugees’ health and lives are being put in danger as a result of restrictive government policies and serious shortfalls in assistance. Report - 15 Dec 2011

Central African Republic

Mortality rate in Central African Republic reaches an emergency level

The Central African Republic (CAR) is in the grip of a chronic medical emergency. Four mortality studies conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the past 18 months reveal crude mortality rates in some regions are at three times the emergency threshold level, which is considered a humanitarian crisis. Report - 13 Dec 2011

Afghanistan

MSF treats victims of bomb blast in central Kunduz

Following a bomb blast in the capital of Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan on 10 December, MSF treated fourteen patients in the organization’s surgical hospital. Project Update - 12 Dec 2011

South Sudan

MSF scales up emergency response

The registered number of refugees gathering at the tiny village of Doro, as of 7th December, was 21,500 and increasing daily. Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 newcomers are registering every day.
The walk from their homelands in Blue Nile State, Sudan (north), took anywhere from one week to one month. Although the work to set up a properly organised refugee camp is under way, no family groups arriving at the gathering point at Doro have yet been allocated a plot. So the reality for most is still to find a small tree or bush under which to spread the belongings they were able to carry. Project Update - 12 Dec 2011

Refugees, IDPs and people on the move

Sixty years on, governments still failing refugees

This week, world leaders will gather in Geneva to commemorate 60 years of the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Yet it is an anniversary the world’s 15.1 million refugees have little reason to celebrate. Today, states are increasingly shutting their borders and restricting the assistance they give to refugees and people seeking asylum. Project Update - 8 Dec 2011

Access to Healthcare

The thinnest of lifelines: An interview with Dr. Unni Karunakara on MSF's response to the funding crisis at the Global Fund

In a move that could have a profound impact on patients in developing countries, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has announced it won’t be accepting any grant applications this year to support treatment programmes because of a catastrophic drop in donor funding. Voices from the Field - 1 Dec 2011

HIV/AIDS

MSF pays tribute to the people fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa and launches 'Positive Generation: Voices for an AIDS-free future'

The aim of this project is to raise awareness about the reality of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa by highlighting how people on treatment can still live a ‘positive’ life. It also shows the importance of prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs and warns about the consequences of the current funding shortfalls on the lives of thousands of patients. Press Release - 1 Dec 2011

HIV/AIDS

Response to President Obama's HIV/AIDS speech: 'Now it is time for all governments to step up'

Response by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to President Obama’s December 1 speech on World AIDS Day, during which he committed to reach two million more people with US-funded HIV treatment by the end of 2013, bringing the total number of people on treatment under US funding to nearly 6 million: Statement - 1 Dec 2011

South Sudan

MSF starts emergency medical response as thousands of refugees flee conflict

Over the past two weeks thousands of refugees have crossed the border from Sudan into the newly independent South Sudan. Project Update - 1 Dec 2011

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

About Us

What we do

Where we work

MSF Websites