Measles: tackling a deadly endemic disease in Somalia

May 26, 2023

As Somalia faces a severe drought and ongoing conflict, children of all ages have become increasingly vulnerable to contracting – and dying from – measles. Although the disease is entirely preventable, measles outbreaks of varying severity have become widespread across...

Battling Measles Amid Ongoing Crises in South Sudan 

May 26, 2023

In South Sudan, a fierce battle is being fought against measles. This insidious disease has taken hold across the country and now threatens the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable. MSF clinical officer Douth Chuol Khor examines 5-month-old Makuach...

Vaccination campaign for Sudanese refugees in Koufroun, Chad

May 8, 2023

Since the resumption of the conflict in Sudan, around 30,000 people have fled to Chad according to the UNHCR. Médecins Sans Frontières is carrying out a vaccination campaign to protect children against measles in temporary camps set up at the...

Measles in DRC: the never-ending fight against one of the world’s most contagious disease?

February 23, 2023

Every two to three years, measles outbreaks affect tens or even hundreds of thousands of children in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Last year was no exception, with more than 148,600 cases and 1,800 deaths reported[1]. How can this recurring...

“We rushed her to the red zone”: Saving a young life in Afghanistan

May 19, 2022

Her name was Tahera*. She had been brought to the MSF-supported Herat Regional Hospital the day before by her parents; with a red, blotchy rash spreading down her little body. After being assessed by our medical team she was admitted...

Afghanistan: Measles poses deadly risk for malnourished children in Afghanistan

March 9, 2022

Zainab didn’t sleep well last night. The lights and the incessant beeping of the machines in the intensive care unit would keep anyone awake. But mainly she couldn’t sleep because she was worried about her one-year-old son, Takberullah. He also...

Mali: Prevention is better than cure – vaccinating against measles in Timbuktu

November 3, 2020

“It’s between 11am and midday at the moment. Anyone who knows shadows knows that,” says Djeynabou Abdoulaye, smiling. She has come to the village school in Tassakane to get her child vaccinated against measles. “We’re lucky it’s not raining today.” Despite...

“These children shouldn’t be sick” – tackling measles in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh

February 19, 2020

In a pink room decorated with white flowers at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) Kutupalong field hospital in the Cox's Bazar district of southeastern Bangladesh, a woman lies curled around her sleeping child. Next to her, a young mother...

DRC: A deadly measles outbreak is spreading like wildfire

August 16, 2019

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease for which no treatment exists. The only way to fight it is vaccination and treatment of the symptoms in the hope that the patient will be strong enough to naturally fight off the...

Epidemics and pandemics

February 6, 2019

Millions of people still die each year from infectious diseases that are preventable or can be treated. Outbreaks of cholera, measles and yellow fever can spread rapidly and be fatal. Malaria is endemic in more than 100 countries. Millions are...