Stories & News

Set up two years ago, MSF’s South Sudan Emergency Response Unit (SSERU) was designed as a first responder to crises across South Sudan and to reinforce MSF’s preparedness for dealing with emergencies. This article describes the SSERU’s first major emergency response which took place in Paloich in July and August 2023. 

A diphtheria outbreak is surging through Nigeria and neighbouring countries, requiring an urgent increase in access to medicines and vaccination.

Since 3rd of March 2022, more than 33,600 confirmed people have been reported as having cholera in the country and more than 1,093 people died. 

Lebanon is battling its first outbreak of cholera in three decades. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides hygiene kits, vaccinations, oral rehydration points, in the Bekaa valley, north and northeast of the country areas with the highest number of confirmed cases in addition to medical care in two cholera treatment centers in Bekaa Valley.

The uneven progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unequal access to vaccines and treatments calls for locally tailored approaches.

Isabelle Defourny, Director of Operations for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), discusses the 'one-size-fits-all' approach to COVID-19 vaccination advocated for by the UN, and the urgent need for vaccines in low income countries.

The World Health Organization’s declaration of Omicron as a “variant of concern” shows how critical it is to lift global COVID-19 vaccination rates. With the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating, prioritising access to COVID-19 medical tools for everyone, everywhere is essential.

Low vaccination rates increase the likelihood of new variants, such as Omicron, appearing. If we vaccinate the world more quickly, the chance of mutations drops.

One year ago—and seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic—India and South Africa put forward the TRIPS Waiver proposal: a groundbreaking solution to lift intellectual property barriers on and ensure greater equity in access to any vaccines, tests, treatments or other medical tools needed to tackle COVID-19.  

Despite this waiver offering the chance to save millions of lives, a number of wealthy countries continue to block it.

Dr Salih M. Auwal is a Médecins Sans Frontières doctor and COVID-19 focal clinician working at Shinkafi clinic in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria, where we provide care for malaria, sexual violence and other health needs.

Here, Dr Awaul explains why he and other health professionals in Nigeria urgently need global support to protect people from COVID-19, as they face the country’s third wave of infections.

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across Papua New Guinea, fear and concern around the virus and its treatments have become widespread. Combatting this fear is critical to preventing further spread of COVID-19. 

MSF teams are working to combat this stigma and fear—as well as improve physical and mental health—through phone counselling for those who have contracted COVID-19.