In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.
We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.
Based in Paris, CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions. They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field.
Based in Geneva, UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action.
Based in Brussels, MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration, refugees, aid access, health policy and the environment in which aid operates.
This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.
SAMU provides strategic, clinical and implementation support to various MSF projects with medical activities related to HIV and TB. This medical unit is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, and other infectious diseases. This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences, the World Health Organization (WHO), other renowned international medical institutions, and medical and scientific journals.
Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations, conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or excluded from health care.
Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris, assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work.
MSF works with LGBTQI+ populations in many settings over the last 25-30 years. LGBTQI+ people face healthcare disparities with limited access to care and higher disease rates than the general population.
The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.
The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff, policy makers and academia to exchange ideas, align efforts, inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field.
The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole.
A collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases, founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world.
Although easy to prevent and treat, cholera affects up to 4 million people worldwide per year, resulting in up to 140,000 deaths.
Caused by a water-borne bacterial infection of the intestine, cholera is transmitted through contaminated food or water, or through contact with fecal matter or vomit from infected people. Cholera can cause severe diarrhoea and vomiting, and rapidly prove fatal, within hours, if not treated. But cholera is very simple to treat – rehydration is key. Most people respond well to oral rehydration salts, which are easy to administer. In more serious cases, intravenous fluids are required. Ultimately, no-one should die of cholera.
Cholera
Quick facts about cholera
01People at risk
Outbreaks can rapidly spread in over-crowded communities and in dense living conditions, such as refugee camps and in slums, when there is inadequate access to clean water, waste collection, and proper toilets. People being displaced, destruction of infrastructure, or a lack of public services can mean cholera is a serious risk in the aftermath of a natural disaster or during a conflict. Both drought and flooding can increase the risk for cholera. Drought decreases the available amount of clean water, forcing people to use contaminated water. Flooding can spread the bacteria and contaminate water sources.
02Simple to treat
Cholera is relatively simple to treat in most cases, with people with mild to moderate forms usually able to recover through treatment with fluids and oral rehydration salts, which are easy to administer. People who are severely dehydrated may need intravenous fluids and hospitalisation. In these cases, they should be admitted to a Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC). Without treatment, the mortality rate can reach 50 per cent. With proper medical care, it's around 0.2 per cent.
03Clean water & sanitation
Cholera occurs in areas with poor access to sanitation and unsafe drinking water - so providing people with clean drinking water and proper sanitation facilities is vital to preventing and curbing any outbreaks. Our water and sanitation teams provide people with sachets to purify water, truck clean water in, and install, fix and clean out sanitation facilities such as toilets in affected areas. Informing people about good hygiene practices such as washing hands, using clean toilets, and using only clean water to drink and wash food, can also curb outbreaks of the disease.
04Vaccination
Vaccines against cholera are orally administered, which is practical for mass vaccination and does not require medical personnel. Of the two vaccines used for mass vaccination, one does not even need a cold chain. We know that one dose of a vaccine provides sufficient protection and can reduce or prevent transmission of the disease, but vaccination officially requires two doses. However, in October 2022, a WHO-hosted vaccination coordination group – of which MSF is a member – exceptionally approved one-dose strategy, given a shortage of cholera vaccines and the high number of outbreaks around the world.
05Rapid response
A rapid response is vital to containing the spread of a cholera outbreak. Quickly putting in place health promotion activities - educating people about how to help to limit the spread - plus water and sanitation activities, establishing treatment centres and vaccinating in an emergency response can help limit how far an epidemic spreads and reduce the number of people who fall sick or die.
06Model of care
The design of the Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) by MSF was a significant contribution to cholera epidemic response. A CTC is set up outside of the main hospital to prevent the spread of the disease and is fully autonomous. In open settings, with spread-out populations, treatment needs to be as close as possible to affected populations. Care can be decentralised to smaller-scale CTCs known as cholera treatment units and oral rehydration solution (ORS) points, supported by mobile teams.
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Cholera outbreaks resurgence
A resurgence of cholera outbreaks
In 2023, 30 countries recorded cases of cholera. MSF teams responded to cholera outbreaks in more than 10 countries, including in Lebanon, Haiti, Syria and DRC; in many of these countries, the situation is worrying. But why are we seeing a resurgence of cholera outbreaks?
MSF often responds to outbreaks of cholera in the countries we work. But how do we set up our cholera treatment centres to ensure our patients get the best care possible - and that the disease doesn't spread? Learn more about the layout and activities of an MSF cholera treatment centre in this interactive guide.
MSF reinforces teams to fight epidemics on all fronts
Press Release21 Feb 2003
Democratic Republic of Congo
Cholera spreading rapidly
Project Update18 Oct 2002
Democratic Republic of Congo
Cholera outbreak causes high death toll
Press Release12 Sep 2002
Burundi
Cholera epidemic in Burundi over its peak
Project Update26 Aug 2002
Burundi
Cholera epidemic within displaced near Bujumbura
Project Update24 Jul 2002
Somalia
MSF team returns to Bosasso
Project Update21 May 2002
Afghanistan
Up to 30,000 Afghans remain stuck on Pakistan border
Project Update30 Apr 2002
Research & Analysis
Cholera
An interactive guide to an MSF cholera treatment centre
Project Update3 Jun 2014
Website
Cholera Treatment Centre
What is a Cholera Treatment Centre? Médecins Sans Frontières provides information about the key parts of a CTC, and what patients can expect in their treatment.
msf.org
Cholera
Beyond cholera: Zimbabwe's worsening crisis
Report17 Jan 2009
Cholera
Murky Waters: Why the cholera epidemic in Angola was a disaster waiting to happen
Report17 May 2006
Related topics
Middle East & North Africa
Yemen
Discover how we deliver medical humanitarian assistance in Yemen, where indiscriminate bombings and chronic shortages of supplies and staff have led to the closure of more than half the country's health facilities.
497,200
outpatient consultations
165,200
people admitted to hospital
37,300
births assisted, including 5,160 caesarean sections
26,900
surgical interventions
12,800
patients treated for measles
11,900
children admitted to inpatient feeding programmes
Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo
In DRC, MSF runs some of its largest medical relief operations, working in 17 of 26 provinces, responding to diseases outbreaks, conflict and displacement, and tackling health problems such as HIV/AIDs.
2,578,300
outpatient consultations
1,495,400
vaccinations against measles in response to an outbreak
779,800
malaria cases treated
29,000
people treated for sexual violence
14,100
surgical interventions
1,410
people with advanced HIV under direct MSF care
Africa
Nigeria
Continued violence and armed conflict in Nigeria’s Borno state has uprooted more than two million people.
1,203,600
outpatient consultations
409,600
malaria cases treated
193,900
admissions of children to outpatient feeding programmes
154,600
people admitted to hospital
52,500
children admitted to inpatient feeding programmes
30,200
births assisted
16,400
people treated for measles
14,400
individual mental health consultations
Africa
Chad
Since 2015, thousands of people in the Lake Chad region have been forced to flee their homes as a result of violent clashes between armed groups and Chadian military forces.
173.2M
litres of water distributed
1,358,900
vaccinations against measles in response to an outbreak
63,100
admissions of children to outpatient feeding programmes
29,700
patients admitted to hospital
Africa
South Sudan
In South Sudan, MSF delivers one of its largest assistance programmes worldwide. Our teams provide primary and secondary healthcare and run outreach activities for displaced people and remote communities. This includes response to emergencies and outbreaks and preventive activities such as vaccination campaigns.
879,100
outpatient consultations
327,100
malaria cases treated
74,300
people admitted to hospital
65,800
vaccinations against measles in response to an outbreak
14,100
births assisted
10,300
surgical interventions
5,570
children admitted to inpatient feeding programmes
5,380
people treated for intentional physical violence
2,530
people treated for sexual violence
Africa
Kenya
We offer care to refugees, survivors of sexual violence and people who use drugs in Kenya, and respond to public health challenges, including HIV.
11,500
individual mental health consultations
10,700
admissions of children to outpatient feeding programmes
3,840
births assisted including caesarean sections
3,490
people treated for sexual violence
Medical Resource
MSF Field Research
We produce important research based on our field experience. So far, we have published articles in over 100 peer-reviewed journals. These articles have often changed clinical practice and have been used for humanitarian advocacy. All of these articles can be found on our dedicated Field Research website.
