Malaria

In 2006, MSF provided treatment for more than 1.8 million people with malaria in 40 countries, including Chad, Myanmar and Sierra Leone. In 2006, MSF treated more than two million people for malaria. Every year, malaria kills nearly two million people and infects between 400–500 million. Ninety percent of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria mainly strikes poor and rural communities. Patients are often bedridden for days and can't carry out normal daily activities. Children who survive the disease may suffer neurological damage and educational difficulties. The result can be a loss of income and a burden on families, health systems and society as a whole. This suffering and loss of life are...

Malaria cases have increased dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leaving clinics and treatment centres unable to cope, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned...   "Treatment outside the cities remains especially weak, due to unaffordability or geographic inaccessibility," said Dr Jorgen Stassijns, a malaria specialist for MSF. "In some areas, healthcare is simply non-existent. Even when treatment is available, the drugs are sometimes inadequate or outdated."...   Read full article here

On 25th of April, the annual World Malaria Day, many health organisations will highlight important gains in fighting this deadly disease that claims more than one million lives every year. But despite notable progress in terms of innovation and investment, MSF continues to see continuously high rates of malaria in several African countries. In DRC, MSF has observed infection rates above emergency thresholds in several provinces over the last six months, which can be attributed to a dysfunctional surveillance system, failure of the health system to respond to elevated levels of malaria, poor organisation and lack of diagnostic testing and drugs. Equally worrying are the continuing reports of emerging cases of drug resistant malaria in...

  Triple-fold Increase in Cases Since 2009 A massive increase in malaria cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is overwhelming existing treatment capacity, demanding a comprehensive and stepped-up response, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said today.   DRC. Photo: Sandra Smiley/MSF   MSF’s health centres and hospitals have observed a marked increase in malaria cases, including in its severe form. In six provinces (half of the vast country), the number of people treated for malaria in MSF projects has increased 250 percent since 2009, with the rise even more sharp in recent months....