COVID

Gavi must do more as WHO/UNICEF estimates show slow childhood vaccination recovery

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Gavi should waive co-financing requirements for countries with fragile health systems or in humanitarian crises. Geneva, 18 July, 2023 — Today, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) again called on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to broaden “catch-up” vaccine coverage for unprotected children by temporarily waiving co-financing requirements for all countries and areas with fragile health … Read more

EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway must stop blocking negotiations on landmark pandemic monopoly waiver

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Ahead of the next World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on the landmark pandemic monopoly waiver proposal — the ‘TRIPS waiver’ — the international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced the European Union (EU) and countries including the UK, Switzerland and Norway for employing delay tactics instead of agreeing to start formal negotiations … Read more

Peru: COVID situation remains critical in the world’s worst-hit country

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Peru, which in recent days has revised up the number of deaths from COVID-19, currently has the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world. The revelation comes as the country experiences a major gap in its access to vaccines and is still struggling with overwhelmed intensive care units, even if the overall number of cases has declined … Read more

Three ways to cope with stress and anxiety during an epidemic

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Are you in self-isolation? Is your mind surrounded by information related to the epidemic/pandemic? In difficult times, like during a pandemic, many people start feeling stressed, anxious and have other overwhelming emotions. MSF Psychologist Sharika Amin offers three ways to help us cope with stress during these times.

Mediterranean migration: EU states use COVID-19 to shirk search and rescue obligations as MSF ends Ocean Viking partnership

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AMSTERDAM – European governments must stop using the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to enforce deadly migration control policies and must immediately lift the obstacles preventing NGOs from saving lives at sea, says Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in an urgent call today. The plea follows grotesque scenes that played out in the Mediterreanean Sea over the Easter … Read more

Greece: Evacuation of squalid Greek camps more urgent than ever over COVID-19 fears

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ATHENS – The overcrowded and horrific living conditions in the camps – or  hotspots – on the Greek islands provide the perfect storm for a COVID-19 outbreak, warned Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Given the lack of adequate sanitation services and the severely limited medical care, the risk of the virus spreading amongst the inhabitants of the camps … Read more

Preparing for COVID-19 in South-East Asia

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Tankred Stöbe, MSF emergency coordinator, visited several countries in South-East Asia to assess their preparedness for potential outbreaks of COVID-19 coronavirus and the support MSF could provide. He participated in training sessions with healthcare staff in a hepatitis C clinic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A similar training was held in a hospital in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where MSF treats patients with tuberculosis. … Read more