Gavi’s next strategy must make sure to reach the 10 million children in fragile and humanitarian settings who are missing vaccines

Where are we now? This week, on 6-7 June 2024, the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is meeting in Geneva to approve and endorse the one-page framework for Gavi 6.0, which outlines its strategy for the five-year period from 2026-2030. Gavi, which is funded by public and private donors, was set up nearly 25 … Read more

As Gavi plans next five-year strategy, it must do more to get vaccines to people excluded from vaccination

With routine vaccination efforts failing to reach people in fragile and emergency settings, MSF is seeing low vaccination coverage and more outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, like diphtheria and measles  Geneva, 15 April 2024 – Ahead of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s Board Retreat on April 17-18, where the Board will shape Gavi’s strategic framework for the next … Read more

Sudan: Fleeing conflict, hundreds of thousands face hardship and disease in overcrowded camps in White Nile State

26 July, 2023 – More than 140,000 people, mostly South Sudanese women and children fleeing from Khartoum, have newly arrived in White Nile state since conflict broke out in Sudan and are now facing huge unmet needs for food, shelter, healthcare and water and sanitation in 10 camps that host around 387,000 people, according to … Read more

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

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

CAR: MSF vaccinates thousands of children after arrival of refugees from Sudan

This vaccination campaign against measles and other diseases is part of the emergency response launched by the medical organization in the town of Birao, in northern Central African Republic, where refugees from Sudan have been relocated.  A Sudanese girl is vaccinated during an MSF vaccination campaign against measles and other diseases at Korsi refugee camp … Read more

COVID-19: Vaccinating people with comorbidities in South Africa

CAPE TOWN: A vaccination support programme developed by MSF in Khayelitsha, South Africa, in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Health (WCDoH), has shown that it is possible to target and protect individuals with comorbidities that increase the risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19. Most facilities in South Africa do not offer targeted … Read more

COVID-19: In an unequal world, our response to COVID-19 cannot be one size-fits-all

Dr Isabelle Defourny, MSF director of operations This opinion piece was first published in English in Al Jazeera and in French by Le Monde. Today we can say that we are entering into a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the countries that have been worst affected by the virus – such as the United Kingdom – having vaccinated enough … Read more

Yellow Fever: Fractioning doses of yellow fever vaccine can help save more lives

NEW YORK/PARIS – Giving people a fraction of a yellow fever vaccine is effective and could help vaccinate millions more people during emergencies, according to results of a recent study led by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres’ (MSF) research arm Epicentre, published in The Lancet. These clinical trial results, which found that giving a person one-fifth of the standard … Read more

COVID-19: Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can only be scaled up globally if many more suppliers can produce

Geneva – As the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) starts meeting today and later this month to discuss emergency use authorisation of both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine candidates, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns that any eventual COVID-19 vaccine approval won’t be enough to solve the global pandemic unless corporations take urgent … Read more

COVID-19: Governments must support landmark proposal to waive COVID-19 patents

GENEVA – Ahead of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks to consider a landmark request to waive certain intellectual property (IP) during the COVID-19 pandemic – put forward by India and South Africa in October – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on all governments to support this game-changing step. The IP waiver would allow all countries to choose … Read more