News for the Week of May 3, 1998

May 3, 1998

Civilians are Severely Mutilated in Sierra Leone, As Fighting Continues; Refugee Move Planned for Liberia

An MSF surgical team working in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, has treated 128 patients suffering from severe mutilations since April 6, 1998. The victims, mostly civilians, come from the northeastern region of Kono, where insecurity is rife. The surgical team has been working at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, since 1997. MSF also supports four other clinics in Freetown. For details see our press release dated May 5, 1998.

Since February 1998, as many as 1,800 Sierra Leonean refugees a day have poured into the Vahun area of Liberia, adjacent to the eastern border of Sierra Leone. According to various estimates, between 15,000 and 26,000 refugees, mainly women and children, have fled recent fighting across the border into Liberia. Security on the Liberian side of the border remains unstable, and the protection of refugees is a growing concern. Aid organizations have proposed a plan to move the refugees from their present location in Vahun to an area in Kolahun which will allow better security and accessibility to assistance for the refugees. In anticipation of the move, MSF has stocked an emergency water supply, and constructed water and sanitation facilities. MSF in conjunction with other aid organizations will establish two feeding centers for refugees suffering from malnutrition in Kolahun, and a medical team will be on hand for basic medical care and nutritional follow-up.

MSF currently works in the capital city of Monrovia as well as outlying areas providing medical care to the population of Liberia as well as refugees from Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire.

MSF Safe Sex Campaign Brings Results in Moscow

Since 1996, MSF has been conducting HIV education and prevention activities in Russia. In the last two years alone an estimated 7,000 people in the Russian Federation have been infected with HIV, and the number is rising. In June 1997, working in close cooperation with local health authorities, MSF launched a public education campaign aimed at young people, who are most at risk. The campaign used television and radio spots, advertisements in buses and subways, and informational pamphlets to reach kids between the ages of 15 to 25. To understand whether the campaign has been effective, a survey targeting 1,228 young people was recently carried out by the MSF Moscow team. Eighty-seven percent of those questioned were familiar with the campaign, and 83 percent said they had found the campaign beneficial. More than one-quarter still felt it was unnecessary to use a condom to protect themselves from HIV, showing the need for continued education. MSF also runs HIV/AIDS programs in St. Petersburg and Yarislav, and plans to expand its HIV-prevention activities in Russia later this year when pilot projects open in Kalingrad (where HIV rates are even higher than New York City), Novosibirsk, and Rostov.

Burma: AIDS Campaign Successful

MSF has distributed HIV/AIDS information for the past three months to local aid organizations in Burma, where in 1996 half a million people were infected with HIV, according to the World Health Organization. The awareness campaign, which targets young people, pregnant women, and prostitutes and their clients, has been a great success. In the past three months the team has distributed 125 informational videos, and 700 posters, and, pamphlets. Another 60,000 pamphlets will be distributed in the next two months. MSF team members also provide HIV/AIDS counseling to sex workers in Rangoon and their clients. The organization has provided training to 20 health care and aid workers so that they can bring counseling and information to populations in outlying areas. The project was begun because public awareness of safe sex practices and HIV transmission remains extremely low and the rates of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases continue to rise.

MSF has been working in Burma since 1993, improving access to health care, supplying drugs and medical supplies to local clinics, and establishing adequate water supplies and sanitary facilities in rural areas.

Population of Kayanza Province in Burundi Faces Food Shortage

In May 1998, MSF will open new therapeutic feeding centers in the Kayanza province which will provide provide treatment to 300 malnourished children a day. Burundi is facing a food crisis of worsening proportions due to population displacement resulting from rebel attacks. More than 40,000 people in the province have been displaced and are unable to harvest their crops. The population is also suffering from the effects of torrential rains and floods in October 1997. Four nutritional feeding centers already exist in the province, yet, these centers in recent months have become overpopulated and are inaccessible to many refugees.

MSF works in 8 of Burundi's 16 provinces and has been present in Kayanza since September 1995. Teams have provided training to local health care workers, supplied drugs and logistical support to local hospitals and health centers, and supervised vaccination and prevention campaigns. MSF physicians have also provided surgical support at local hospitals.

North Korean Suffers From Food Shortage

One of the world's most closed societies, North Korea has been experiencing a severe food shortage since 1997, as a result of disastrous agricultural policies. Yet, while government officials have acknowledged a full-scale famine, they have restricted access by international aid agencies to most of the population, so it has not been fully possible to document the extent of the problem.

MSF, the largest non-governmental medical organization working in North Korea, has been granted access to hospitals and clinics in four provinces, where it is currently providing nutritional assistance to malnourished children, distributing drugs, and training local health workers. The teams have free access to certain clinics but they cannot conduct door-to-door nutritional surveys-the most reliable measure of nutritional status. In 1997, MSF distributed 2,200 tons of barley seeds to help the population cope with the impending crisis.

MSF is currently negotiating with government authorities to increase its access to the population so that proper documentation can be collected and support to the neediest can be provided.

MSF Participates in AIDS Walk On Sunday May 17, 1998

On Sunday, May 17, 1998, a team of MSF volunteers, staff, and friends, will be walking in the 13th annual Gay Men's Health Crisis AIDS Walk in New York. MSF runs HIV/AIDS programs in 22 countries, including Cuba, Uganda, Peru, Kenya, Russia, Armenia, and Congo (the former Zaire).

The walk is 10 km and begins and ends in the Sheep Meadow, Central Park. Kick-off is at 9:00 am, and the walk is followed by a concert in the park. MSF will also have an information table in the park.

MSF Hosts An Evening of Conversation

On Tuesday, May 19, 1998, MSF will host a discussion with Professor Marouf Keita, M.D. from the Department of Pediatrics, Gabriel Toure Hospital, in Bamako, Mali and Bernard Pécoul, M.D. from Médecins Sans Frontières/Epicentre, Paris.

Professor Keita and Dr. Pecoul will be speaking on: "Saving Children's Lives in Africa: MSF Combats Infectious Diseases (with a focus on bacterial meningitis)."

The event will take place from 6-8pm at 6 East 39th Street, 8th Floor (between Madison and 5th Avenues).

Professor Marouf Keita, M.D., is the Head of Pediatrics at Bamako University and Head of Pediatric Services at the Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako, Mali. Dr. Keita has been collaborating with MSF and Epicentre (MSF's sister epidemiological research center in Paris) since 1989 on a project to find affordable treatments for bacterial meningitis in children. Dr. Keita is the founding member of both "SOS Villages for Children," a non-governmental organization providing services for AIDS orphans, and the Malian Association for Mentally Disabled Children. He is the author of several publications on pediatric health in Mali.

Bernard Pécoul, M.D., was the Director General of Médecins Sans Frontières, France, from 1991 to 1998. He has worked with MSF since 1982, and is a medical epidemiologist with extensive experience with Epicentre. His field experience includes coordinating medical services for refugees in Honduras, Thailand, Malaysia, and El Salvador, and supervising applied research activities for Epicentre, including the bacterial meningitis study in Mali and Niger. He is the author of several publications including MSF's revised diagnostic and treatment guidelines for field workers.

Tags: Burundi, Liberia, Myanmar, North Korea, Russian Federation

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