Each year, malaria kills over 600,000 people. Three-quarters of all deaths are children under five years of age. Topic

Medical activities

Malnutrition

More than 224 million children around the world last year suffered from malnutrition. It is the underlying contributing factor in nearly half of the deaths of children under five years of age. Topic

The waiting room in ward 4C where MSF's cervical cancer project is located at Queens Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.

Medical activities

Women's health

An estimated 99 per cent of women who die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications live in developing countries. Most of these deaths are preventable. Topic

Medical activities

Measles

In 2023, our teams vaccinated 3.3 million people against measles in response to outbreaks. But the highly contagious viral disease remains one of the leading killers of young children. Topic

Sabiti Lukalaba vient de finir son traitement contre la méningite, il rentre à la maison dans les minutes qui suivent; les signes de la méningite ont disparu; il vient de passer cinq jours à l’hôpital général de Banalia.

MSF soutient les efforts du à Ministère Provinciale de la Santé dans cette zone de la Province de la Tshopo en RDC dans la lutte contre cette maladie potentiellement mortelle.

Medical activities

Meningitis

Meningococcal meningitis is a highly contagious bacterial form of meningitis – a serious inflammation of the meninges – the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Topic

On July 11, 2023, about 30 MSF volunteers from the villages of Internatsional, Arka-1 and Eski-Oochu et al., Leilek district, Batken oblast, took part in a training on psychological first aid, stress management, behavior recognition, and psychological support for children affected by emergencies.

Medical activities

Mental health

Where we work, we may see people with a mental illness or confronting distressing situations, such as violence, loss or displacement. Mental health support can be crucial to help people cope. Topic

Medical activities

Non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases require lifelong care. Topic

Mosoaya Harrison Karrau, MSF Physiotherapist, does exercises with Fatima, a 20-year-old noma survivor who had trismus caused by noma. Trismus is a medical condition that noma can caused and that blocks the jaws. May 5, 2023.

Medical activities

Neglected diseases

MSF teams treat a number of neglected diseases, including noma, Chagas, cutaneous leishmaniasis, in projects across the world. Topic

"There is nothing good about this job. Every day I think about whether to leave or continue, but I can't choose to leave, I have no money." Hamida Ajida (false name to protect her identity) says she has no choice: engaging in sex work is her only option. At 29, she has been in the business for three years now. She works in Dedza, a small, dusty town on the border with Mozambique where MSF runs the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Sexual Violence Program. Her story is the story of so many women in the same situation: Three years ago, Hamida ran a business selling vegetables and charckoal in Mangochi, where she was married with three children. Between her and her husband, they were supporting the family, but one day, without any explanation, her husband left her for another woman, a fact that changed Hamida's future: since then she could not support herself financially and had to start working as a sex worker in a bar in Dedza. In a weak voice and with her eyes on her knees, she says: "I started in 2020 to feed my children and my four siblings. Every month I have to send money for them, but it's never enough." Hamida charges 4,000 Malawi kwacha (3.20 euros) per service, and pays 2,500 kwacha a day to rent the room where she works. She says that when everything was going well she could have as many as 8 clients, but that is not the case now. "Nowadays I have one or even none. Many times I go to sleep on an empty stomach."
She says the biggest challenge she faces is dealing with men who take advantage of her by not honoring price agreements. "When we finish, some clients take the money and leave. We have no one to protect us from threats and physical violence." Until three months ago, Hamida's three-year-old son lived with her in the room, but she took him away because the clients did not like having a baby hanging around the room. Thanks to the goodwill of Mercy, a woman who sometimes went to do laundry and food at the bar, Hamida managed to leave the son with her t

Medical activities

Sexual violence affects millions of people, brutally shattering the lives of women, men and children. It is a medical emergency, but there is often a dire lack of healthcare services for victims. Topic

Medical activities

Sleeping sickness

Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, is a neglected tropical disease. It is a potentially fatal parasitic infection which attacks the body’s central nervous system, causing severe neurological conditions. Topic

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.

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About Us

What we do

Where we work

MSF Websites

Malaria

Malnutrition

Women's health

Measles

Meningitis

Mental health

Non-communicable diseases

Neglected diseases

Sexual violence

Sleeping sickness

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

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79%

16%

16%

5%

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