Abdurafi is a small village in Ethiopia close to the border with Sudan that I called home for an unforgettable nine months. The river on whose bank it lies is the lifeline of the region and at the same time a source of great enjoyment for us MSFers who go swimming every weekend. Every year, … Read more
Groundbreaking Move Sets Precedent for Overcoming Drug Price Barriers Delhi/Geneva – March 12, 2012 – In a landmark case, the Indian Patent Office has issued the first-ever compulsory license in India to a generic drug manufacturer. This effectively ends German pharmaceutical company Bayer’s monopoly in India on the drug sorafenib tosylate, used to treat kidney … Read more
Many patients with drug-resistant TB that arrive at MSF’s clinic in Mumbai have received incorrect or inadequate treatment in the private sector. Although this form of TB is curable if treated early enough, some of the patients, like ‘Shanti’, are in such bad condition that their lives cannot be saved. Like many other sufferers of … Read more
In February 2011, my wildest dreams came true. I had been selected as an infectious disease physician for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and had been posted to Uganda, East Africa. Having always wanted to work in Africa, I jumped at the opportunity. I was to be a “TB doctor” in a remote town called Kitgum. … Read more
“Please don’t miss taking your medicines – the drugs will kill the TB bacteria in your lung. Otherwise the bacteria will grow and multiply and then destroy your entire lung, which will make you very sick. You should try to kill TB before it kills you. The TB that you have is a very strong … Read more
Governments meeting at the World Health Organization’s Executive Board (WHO EB) this week must seize the opportunity to improve serious shortcomings in the ‘Decade of Vaccines’ blueprint that will drive the global community’s vaccines response in the next few years. If they fail to do so, key reasons why children continue to be missed by … Read more
A study on generic antiretrovirals ignores fact that patents prevent use of more affordable patient-friendly combination drugs. The just-released study led by Massachusetts General Hospital in the Annals of Internal Medicine stating that switching patients from the branded combination antiretroviral ‘Atripla’ to generics could be therapeutically ‘less effective’ is misleading and misses a big part … Read more
I came to know about MSF in 2005 while doing a community assessment in a remote village in Afghanistan. At the time, MSF was no longer working there, but the community still remembered their effort. I was surprised and did a Google search and found MSF. I was really moved by the mission and vision … Read more
Hello Ajoy, This is Farhat. How are you? I am fine. Whats up? Hmmm… are you interested in South Sudan? They need a water and sanitation expert in Malakal, for an emergency kala azar response. Farhat is the overseas Recruitment Coordinator of MSF India. I didn’t think twice, but said YES straight away. I was … Read more
I arrived in Pakistan in January 2011. After a short briefing in the capital office, I took a plane to Quetta, to my project site, where I met my team. In fact I had met the project coordinator (or PC) already in my previous mission in Nigeria. I also knew many of the national staff, … Read more