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Voices from the FieldFirst-hand Accounts from MSF Aid Workers and PatientsNovember 2009
Central African Republic: Singing About Sleeping SicknessWith help from a patient and national staff, Katherine Sisterman, a U.S. nurse on her first assignment with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in northern Central African Republic (CAR) developed a song to teach people about human African trypanosomiasis, also called sleeping sickness or trypano. Here, she describes how the song came to be. Read more » November 2009
Somalia: "I did not choose this career at the beginning"In the central Somali city of Galkayo, Dr. Abdullahi Adan Mohamoud is working for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to provide health care to a vulnerable population trapped in a conflict-ridden and divided city. In this interview, he explains about the medical work needs in Galkayo and about working as a surgeon in Somalia. Read more » November 2009Malawi: "How can you go back to rationing access to care?"The increase in availability of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) used to treat HIV in recent years, backed by solid funding commitments, has given millions of people in poor countries a new lease on life. This is the case for tens of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi’s southern Thyolo district. Here, Olesi Ellemani Pasulani, clinical officer for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at the Thyolo District Hospital, shares his perspective on how improved access to care has changed the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and the healthcare workers who treat them. Read more » November 2009
Indonesia: "Most of the people are still afraid of another earthquake"Daisy Plana, a Philippine psychologist working for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has been providing mental health support to victims of the violent earthquake that hit Sumatra, Indonesia, on September 30, 2009, in the rural areas around the coastal city of Pariaman. Read more » October 2009
Patient Story: “This painful treatment is my only way out of drug-resistant TB”“I understand what other patients are going through because, after all, I am also a patient. I take a minimum of 15 pills each day just to fight against drug-resistant TB." Read more » October 2009Patient Story: In Swaziland, “People are scared of me”Nikiwe, 30 years old, was diagnosed in early 2009 with drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). Here, he talks about the daily struggle of being infected and the shame he feels living with his illness in a fearful community. Read more » October 2009DRC: "Since we left, at least 1,000 have died of sleeping sickness ""Since we left, at least 1,000 people have died of sleeping sickness in the region. It is unacceptable. We cannot stand here with our arms crossed and let people die that way. As soon as the situation allows, MSF will go back." Read more » October 2009
Indonesia: “People are still waiting for bodies to be retrieved"Three days after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the western coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia, last week, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency teams arrived in the area and began to assess the medical and non-medical needs of the population. Read more » October 2009
Philippines: “My house was washed away by the floods”Over the past two weeks, the Philippines has been hit by Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma, which have killed over 300 people and displaced over 490,000. Read more » September 2009
CAR: “There are children that die but we succeed in keeping many others alive.”Carol Calero is a field physician for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Currently she is working in the nutritional emergency in southwestern Central African Republic (CAR). In this interview, she talks about being in the heart of a health emergency and of the positive cases that keeps her spirits up. Read more » |
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