Posts tagged malawi
Due to their undocumented status, over 200 Ethiopian migrants have been incarcerated in Malawi prisons. Many have finished serving their sentences, but their release dates are still unclear. With overcrowding, inadequate food, and unsanitary conditions MSF is providing care for the migrants. http://bit.ly/1I4Fjso
Malawi: A Clearer Picture of the AIDS Epidemic
In Malawi, MSF is now treating 36,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, teams are taking part in an ambitious survey designed to measure the incidence of the disease, seeking to learn if HIV/AIDS is still spreading as rapidly as it was, or if transmission rates have decreased.
Ersnart is a mother of five who was hired as an information, education and communications officer for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) after being diagnosed with HIV. She lost loved ones and faced discrimination in her community because of the virus.
The African country of Malawi has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world, with about 10.6 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 affected by the virus. But that figure would be a lot worse without the work of MSF, which introduced antiretroviral therapy to Malawi 10 years ago.
World AIDS Day is tomorrow. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been treating patients living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi using antiretroviral (ARV) medicines since 2001. Now, MSF has committed to another 10 years of care.
We know for a fact that there will be additional epidemics in the near future. It would simply not be right to wait for them to occur. We need an effective system to anticipate and prepare for the coming outbreaks.
Florence Fermon, MSF’s vaccination coordinator on the increasing number of measles epidemics.
On September 13-14, 2011, the Measles Initiative met in Washington, D.C., bringing together organizations seeking to eliminate measles worldwide. Given the troubling resurgence of measles epidemics over the last three years, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for an effective outbreak response mechanism to be established immediately, with secure financial and technical resources.
Since 2008, MSF has responded to epidemics that have expanded over time. In 2010, for example, more than 4.5 million children were vaccinated in emergencies in many countries, including Chad, Malawi, South Africa, Yemen and Zimbabwe. This year, medical teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) vaccinated three million children, but could not halt the epidemic. Despite data showing the urgent need for action, actors in the field were slow to organize. The DRC is no exception. Most countries that experience these epidemics do not adequately mobilize the resources available to them and organize vaccination campaigns.
Read more here about what MSF is calling for to ease the outbreaks.
Bringing Treatment Closer To HIV Patients
In Malawi, MSF is cooperating with the local health system to bring care closer to where patients live.
In this 5-part video-clip series, MSF demonstrates tools and models that could help make improved treatment accessible to many more.Between 8-10 June 2011, world leaders will meet in New York to decide on the future of the millions needing treatment urgently. By sharing this video, help us spread the word that there is NO EXCUSE for governments to leave 10 million people untreated! See www.doctorswithoutborders.org/stopthevirus for more info.
Reducing Pressure on HIV Services By Task-Shifting
In Malawi, MSF is working with the local health system to shift responsibilities from doctors to nurses and lay workers, in order to reduce pressure on qualified health staff.
In this 5-part video-clip series, MSF demonstrates tools and models that could help make improved treatment accessible to many more. Between 8-10 June 2011, world leaders will meet in New York to decide on the future of the millions needing treatment urgently. By sharing this video, help us spread the word that there is NO EXCUSE for governments to leave 10 million people untreated! See www.doctorswithoutborders.org/stopthevirus for more info.
2000
The HIV/AIDS Pandemic
MSF starts providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand, and the following year opens projects in Cambodia, Cameroon, Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa, primarily using generic antiretroviral medicines.
Learn more about MSF’s history at our website.
Photo: Guatemala 2002 © Juan Carlos Tomasi
Malawi has proposed adopting early treatment, changing first-line treatment and implementing the new treatment protocol for HIV-positive pregnant and/or nursing women participating in prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs (PMTCT). If implemented, these changes could have a very positive impact on patient health and could increase the possibility of expanding HIV/AIDS treatment overall.