December 2010
56 posts
3 tags
“The onus is now on the drug companies that own patents on key AIDS medicines to...”
– Elodie Jambert, Pharmaceutical Coordinator for MSF’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines in the MSF special report Ten Stories That Mattered in Access to Medicines in 2010
2 tags
“Until we have a simple, reliable test, many TB patients will keep falling...”
– Dr. Francis Varaine, MSF TB Coordinator in the MSF special report Ten Stories That Mattered in Access to Medicines in 2010
1 tag
“For me it’s a revolution. The fact that the project to develop this...”
– Dr. Cathy Hewison, MSF Medical Advisor in the MSF special report Ten Stories That Mattered in Access to Medicines in 2010
1 tag
Ten Stories That Mattered in Access to Medicines...
Through its Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been closely following the developments in the world of access to medicines, vaccines and diagnostics.
Among the positive stories of the past year: new tools were developed for Meningitis A and for tuberculosis, promising research was published on severe malaria, an innovative...
Haiti: Where the Aid System has Failed to Stop...
Today, the Guardian published an op-ed by MSF International President: “Haiti should be an unlikely backdrop for the latest failure of the humanitarian relief system. The country is small and accessible and, following last January’s earthquake, it hosts one of the largest and best-funded international aid deployments in the world. Why then, have at least 2,500 people died of cholera, a...
Kenya: Somalis Wait for Space in Overcrowded Camps... →
Somalis fleeing the fighting in their own country continue to arrive as refugees in Dadaab, just across the Kenyan border. The three vast refugee camps there are already too overcrowded to house them, and new arrivals have no choice but to construct makeshift shelters in the desert beyond the camps. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is helping the new arrivals by providing...
In Lagos, Nigeria, building a clinic on water to...
2 tags
“We know that behind the scenes, Germany, the UK and France are the ones doing...”
– Michelle Childs, Policy Director at MSF’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, speaking at a protest outside the summit in Brussels.
Help us tell Europe to keep their HANDS OFF OUR MEDICINE!
3 tags
2 tags
“A decade ago, people wouldn’t even bother getting tested for AIDS because they...”
– Dr. Peter Saranchuk, HIV doctor for MSF in South Africa
Help us tell Europe to keep their HANDS OFF OUR MEDICINE!
2 tags
4 tags
In Labor, With Cholera →
MSF has been treating women with cholera who are in labor and in the late stages of pregnancy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, since November. Many of the women have lost their babies due to the effects of cholera.
2 tags
“MSF vehicles are among the only ones moving around within the city. The...”
– Francisco Otero, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti, speaking about the post election demonstrations.
Read more.
2 tags
3 tags
1 tag
2 tags
Iraq: Providing Dialysis Support in Kirkuk →
It is still very difficult to work in Iraq. The security situation has improved somewhat over the past two years, but it remains unstable. Within this troubled environment, MSF is trying to provide assistance to Iraqis by supporting the hospital in Kirkuk, among other activities.
2 tags
MSF in Action - Cholera in Haiti
Just a quick update on what MSF is currently doing to treat cholera in Haiti: Patients treated: 51,000+ (since the end of Oct. until now) # of MSF treatment facilities: 40 # of MSF aid workers: 4,000+ Haitian worker, 260 expatriates Supplies brought into Haiti to respond to the outbreak: 770 tons...
5 tags
“This model [of developing vaccines] is dramatically different to the usual...”
– Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer, executive director of MSF’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, on how the new meningitis vaccine was developed affordably.
Read more.
2 tags
“We cannot afford to miss the opportunity to tackle such a deadly disease.”
– Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, director of MSF’s Access Campaign, on the new meningitis vaccine.
4 tags
Haiti: “If She Does Not Drink, She Will Die” →
Interview with Michelle Mays, an MSF nurse back from Haiti, who recounts what she saw, what was accomplished & what remains to be done.
4 tags
“For me it’s a revolution. The fact that the project to develop this...”
– Dr. Cathy Hewison, MSF medical advisor, speaking about the new meningitis vaccine.
Read more.
2 tags
Haiti: Worrying Situation in Rural Areas →
MSF has treated more than 51,000 people with cholera symptoms in Haiti, including 1,100 every day over the past week. The situation is particularly critical in the north of the country.
4 tags
New Meningitis A Vaccine is a "Revolution" →
This article answers some pressing questions about our past practices in implementing vaccination campaigns against meningitis and what this new vaccination could mean for the countries hit hardest by these devastating epidemics.
3 tags
“There are big benefits with this vaccine: protection can last for 10 years,...”
– Florence Fermon, MSF’s vaccination policy advisor, on the promising new meningitis vaccine.
Read the press release.
3 tags
Need to Know: Meningitis A
Meningitis A is the most common strain of the disease in Africa’s “meningitis belt,” an area stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia.
———————————————————————————————
Symptoms:
*sudden and intense headache...
3 tags
MSF to Support Roll-Out of Promising New Vaccine... →
This month, in Mali and Niger, MSF will support the provision of a promising new vaccine that could prevent future outbreaks of the deadliest form of meningitis.
2 tags
4 tags
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
Haiti: MSF's Cholera Caseload Tops 41,000 →
MSF teams in Haiti treated more than 41,000 people for cholera and cholera-like symptoms in cholera treatment centers since the outbreak began.
3 tags
“There’s a key period of time where children’s bodies and minds are...”
– Dr. Caroline Kistin, Boston Medical Center pediatrician, was one of the panelists at our Starved for Attention event in Boston.
Sign the Petition.
3 tags
“The goal is ‘getting the right nutrients to the people when they need...”
– Patrick Webb, Dean of Academic Affairs at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, was one of the Starved for Attention panelists in Boston.
Sign the Petition.
3 tags
3 tags
“This is about priorities. How do we commit to doing the right thing? Making sure...”
– Patrick Webb, Dean of Academic Affairs at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, was one of the panelists at our Starved for Attention event in Boston.
Sign the Petition.
3 tags
“Childhood malnutrition is really something we can conquer today with what we...”
– Jason Cone, MSF Communications Director, opened the Starved for Attention event in Boston with this thought.
Sign the Petition.
3 tags
Starved for Attention blog - Boston Public Library... →
A Starved for Attention event was held at the Boston Public Library last month. Watch the panel discussion from the event on our Starved for Attention blog.
4 tags
AIDS treatment: a brief history →
In his blog post, Flying in the face of evidence, Nathan Ford gives an overview of AIDS treatment, leading up to the issues being faced today.
Nathan Ford has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) since 1998, and is currently the medical coordinator for MSF’s International Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines.
6 tags
2010 World AIDS Day: the Good, the Bad, and the...
From the article On World AIDS Day, infection rates are declining, but dwindling funds threaten progress.
The Good:
After several decades of explosive growth, particularly in Africa, there are signs that the AIDS epidemic is slowing. Over the past decade, new HIV infections have decreased by 20 percent, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations AIDS agency.
...
7 tags
“If the ARVs are not free there will be no way of surviving.”
– Muhumuza Gervis, a teacher in Uganda, was a skeleton on the edge of death when he began taking ARVs.
Read article.
Take Action: Europe! Hands Off Our Medicine.
7 tags
“The EU is preparing for trade talks with India in Brussels next week. Among the...”
– From the article Licensing deal threatens cheap pharmaceuticals by Daniel Howden.
Take Action: Europe! Hands Off Our Medicine.
6 tags
Licensing deal threatens cheap pharmaceuticals →
Like most little girls, Stella doesn’t much like pills – she pulls a comic face when they are mentioned – but she takes them anyway, twice a day. They save her life. But for how long? If the European Union has its way, the supply of cheap drugs on which Stella depends could be cut off.
Take Action: Europe! Hands Off Our Medicine.
5 tags
3 tags
4 tags
World AIDS Day - Did You Know?
Did you know that just ten years ago, treatment for AIDS in Africa was considered unfeasible?
Find out why in Nathan Ford’s blog post, Flying in the face of evidence.
6 tags
“In the old days, people were dying like rats. The drugs were too expensive and...”
– Hope Tukahirwa, a voluntary AIDS worker in Uganda living with HIV
Read article.
Take Action: Europe! Hands Off Our Medicine.