Expanding frontline treatments for malaria and AIDS
International staff: 28
National staff: 177
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When MSF first arrived in Cambodia in 1989, health care
was practically non-existent, particularly in the rural
areas. Over the years MSF has played a pivotal role in the
restructuring of the country's health system, building
and strengthening facilities in marginalized areas. Now,
only two health districts, Sotnikum and Thmar Pouk, are
still supervised by MSF and even Thmar Pouk is preparing
for handover. MSF will nevertheless maintain a presence
in Cambodia, running a selection of small, pilot projects
of high medical value, looking at ways to help the most
vulnerable.
Malaria
One of the most innovative projects is aimed at research
into effective malaria treatments in Anlong Veng and
Sotnikum. Set up in response to a malaria epidemic in
1999, the project introduced combination therapy (artesunate
and mefloquine) to combat drug resistance that has
rendered old drugs ineffective and proven so fatal. The government
soon adopted the more effective combination
therapy in its national protocols. More recently MSF is considering
an operational trial of a new combination drug
called Artekin (which combines the drugs artemisinin
and piperaquine); this combination therapy is cheaper and
has fewer side-effects. The success could have significance
beyond Cambodia, helping to improve access to effective
and affordable malaria treatment in other countries as
well. MSF is working with malaria specialists to gather the
scientific data needed to develop a comprehensive treatment
protocol. Click here for more on efforts to improve
malaria treatment.
HIV/AIDS
MSF's pilot program to administer antiretroviral (ARV)
therapy to AIDS patients for free, introduced in July 2001
at Norodom Sihanouk Hospital in Phnom Penh, had over
115 patients by mid-2002. MSF is the only NGO treating AIDS
patients with triple therapy in a public health facility in
Cambodia, a country where most of the money for HIV/AIDS
goes essentially to prevention programs.
The Chronic Disease Clinic in Siem Reap, an MSF initiative
which opened in April 2002, is hoping to benefit from
the experiences at Norodom Sihanouk Hospital and at
MSF's ARV programs in Thailand and eventually introduce
antiretrovirals. MSF is currently treating AIDS patients
for related infections and also focusing on other chronic
diseases for which there is very limited treatment in
Cambodia, such as diabetes, hypertension and arthritis.
MSF has been active in Cambodia since 1989.
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