GENEVA/NEW YORK — Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has called for no patents or profiteering on drugs, tests, or vaccines used for the COVID-19 pandemic, and for governments to prepare to suspend and override patents and take other measures, such as price controls, to ensure availability, reduce prices and save more lives. Already, Canada, … Read more
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is stepping up our response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic by starting medical, logistical and strategic support activities in Spain. We will be leveraging our experience and expertise in managing epidemics in fragile contexts, in working in the country. According to the latest official figures, the situation in Spain is very … Read more
As the world grapples with the coronavirus COVID-19 global pandemic, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is concerned for vulnerable groups worldwide. People with tuberculosis (TB) are among the groups that may be particularly affected. Special attention will be needed to safeguard the continuity of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for people with TB worldwide. TB is the world’s … Read more
Op-ed by Jonathan Whittall, Head of humanitarian analysis How are you supposed to wash your hands regularly if you have no running water or soap? How can you implement ‘social distancing’ if you live in a slum or a refugee camp? How are you supposed to stop crossing borders if you are fleeing from war? … Read more
Open Letter by Dr Christos Christou, International President, Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières The following is a letter by MSF International President Dr Christos Christou addressed to all MSF staff and supporters. Dear colleagues, and friends and supporters of MSF As a medical humanitarian organisation with projects and teams around the world, we … Read more
PARIS – Faced with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the French health system is strengthening its capacity to prevent and treat cases. This week, in consultation with France’s health authorities, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is setting up activities to help detect and manage COVID-19 cases among the most vulnerable populations in Paris and the surrounding … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic has already spread to more than 100 countries around the world. These include countries whose health systems are fragile and where MSF teams have a long-standing presence, as well as regions such as Europe, where the capacities are more robust but where the epidemic is particularly virulent. Travel restrictions generated by the outbreak also … Read more
ROME – Teams from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Italy are providing support to Italian health authorities in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. MSF staff are based in four hospitals in the northern Italian province of Lodi, part of the Lombardy region, the epicentre of the outbreak in the country. The MSF team in Lodi … Read more
BRUSSELS – As the number of people with COVID-19 continues to rise rapidly across many countries in Europe – now the epicentre of the pandemic – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges European Member States to demonstrate solidarity beyond their national borders. Essential medical supplies, including personal protective equipment starting from face masks to protect healthcare staff, must be … Read more
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