Cameroon
About 200 000 deaths from malaria each year could be averted if African governments follow new World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, soon to be released, and switch from the far less effective medication quinine to artesunate, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
International Activity Report, 2009
MSF is working in Cameroon to treat Buruli ulcer, one of the most under-funded, under- researched, but treatable diseases in the world. This bacterial infection causes deformation of limbs and disability if it is not treated in time. As part of its Buruli programme, MSF has introduced modern wound-dressings that reduce the need for complicated surgical procedures.
Buruli ulcer is an infection related to tuberculosis and leprosy. It is present in around 30 countries worldwide, but since the number of people affected is relatively small, there is no treatment available in most countries. In the rural district of Akonolinga in Cameroon, MSF has set up a Buruli centre that screens patients...
12 May 2011
Getting Ahead of the Wave: Lessons for the next decade of the AIDS response
11 May 2011
Top Donor Countries Oppose Crucial Treatment Target Ahead of UN AIDS Summit
New York, 11 May 2011– A report released today by the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) revealed that several countries hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic are improving HIV treatment to reduce deaths and illness – but a lack of support from donors prevents many from making vital changes. This fragile progress needs sustained support, but the two biggest AIDS donors, the US and UK, are opposing a critical HIV treatment target ahead of next month’s AIDS Summit in New York at a time when mounting evidence shows that HIV treatment can also prevent HIV infections.
“Our...
09 May 2011
Cameroon: MSF responds to a cholera epidemic, now in the capital
27 September 2010
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has set up treatment centres in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria after an outbreak of cholera occurred in a number of places in the whole region.
In early summer, a cholera outbreak appeared in four neighboring countries in Western Africa. Although cholera is endemic in the region, there have been far more cases than usual.
Cholera is a bacterial infection that leads to severe watery diarrhea and vomiting. Treatment is simple: the loss of fluids is compensated with a salt and sugar based rehydration therapy, administered either orally or by infusion. “Due to rapid dehydration, cholera can lead to death within hours. It...
