Medical activities

Neglected diseases

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

 

Medical activities

Non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases are not transmitted from one person to another. One could cite the cardiovascular diseases (cardiovascular or cerebrovascular accidents), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma) and diabetes.

 

Crisis settings

Refugees, IDPs and people on the move

There are many reasons for flight, including war, persecution, conflict, natural disaster, destitution and repression. With health and well-being jeopardised, the lives of the most vulnerable can be at risk.

 

In Focus

Rohingya refugee crisis

Legally stateless, with very limited options or rights in any country where they have sought refuge, the Rohingya are extremely vulnerable.

 

Medical activities

Safe abortion care

MSF is committed to providing safe abortion care to reduce avoidable suffering and deaths. Every minute, a woman or girl has an unsafe abortion. .

 

Medical activities

Sexual violence

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.

 

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.

 

Medical activities

Snakebite

Snakebite is a hidden health crisis. Every year, an estimated 2.7 million people are bitten by venomous snakes, resulting in death for more than 100,000 people and life-long disfigurement and disability for 400,000 more.​

 

Crisis settings

Social violence and exclusion

Many people are unable to access healthcare simply because of who they are. They may be afraid to seek help, or are excluded because they are forced to live outside of mainstream societal bounds.

 

Medical activities

Surgery & trauma care

Médecins Sans Frontières has been providing surgical care for people in precarious contexts for decades.

 

In Focus

TACTiC – Test, Avoid, Cure Tuberculosis in Children

Tuberculosis affects over 1 million children per year; 200,000 of them die. The TACTiC project – Test, Avoid, Cure Tuberculosis in Children - is a multifaceted project led by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to reduce deaths from TB in children through treatment and preventive treatment.

 

Medical activities

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s biggest global health crises. Killing 1.3 million people in 2022 TB is the world’s second deadliest infectious disease after COVID-19 (WHO).

 

Medical activities

Vaccination

MSF teams vaccinate millions of people every year, either as part of routine vaccination, or in response to an outbreak of disease.

 

Crisis settings

War and conflict

More than one third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for people affected by armed conflict.

 

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.

 

Medical activities

Yellow fever

Yellow fever can be prevented with a vaccine, yet it's a disease that claims the lives of an estimated 30,000 - 60,000 people each year.