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Cameroon
In Cameroon, MSF assists some of those living with either HIV/AIDS or Buruli ulcer. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased sharply during the last decade. Today 11 percent of the population is HIV positive, approximately 937,000 people. In the capital city of Yaoundé, MSF operates an AIDS project that helps more than 1,200 patients. Almost 800 people are now receiving life-extending antiretroviral (ARV) medication. A second prevention and treatment team helps more than 850 patients in the city of Douala. By the middle of 2005, 550 of these patients were using ARVs. In addition to providing treatment, counseling and related medical care, MSF's staff has joined Cameroon's national efforts to find ways to expand access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS. In the district of Akonolinga, MSF helps those living with Buruli ulcer. Related to tuberculosis and leprosy, this illness destroys skin tissue and cause deformities. Although there is no curative treatment yet available for it, the team performs surgery to minimize its effects. More than 300 patients have received this surgery since the program began in 2002. MSF has worked in Cameroon since 2000. |
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An MSF doctor conducts daily rounds in Cameroon. Photo © Juan Carlos Tomasi