Stories & News

Several countries across West Africa are experiencing some of the worst outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease diphtheria ever recorded on the continent.

In 2022, MSF teams around the world continued to respond to crises, old and new. While COVID-19 was not the emergency it was in previous years, new challenges arose. The war in Ukraine escalated in February; the political, humanitarian and economic crises in Haiti deteriorated severely; cholera emerged on an exceptional scale in several countries. 

Médecins Sans Frontières’ history is one of constantly striving to adapt, improve and expand our medical care for people in crisis or excluded from healthcare. 

Throughout we have been driven to improve the safety, effectiveness, timeliness and equity of our care—four important domains of quality care. But 50 years on, it is in the fifth domain of patient-centredness, one that both intersects with and underpins the other four, that we hope to achieve our greatest cumulative impact.

Having completed three assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF), Dr Maman Karsou has seen firsthand the impact of vaccination campaigns in fighting epidemics.

In his latest assignment as emergency coordinator in Niger, Dr Karsou managed the mass measles vaccination campaign conducted in collaboration with the local Ministry of Health. Here he discusses the impact of COVID-19, lack of funding, and climate change on campaigns to protect children from measles. 

Around the world, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams are working to ensure children receive the best healthcare possible. The stories below talk about the enormous challenges faced by these young patients and the impact of MSF programs on helping them survive and stay well.