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Each year hundreds of thousands of people die from a neglected tropical disease, while many more suffer serious illness or lifelong disability. Yet as we mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day on 30th January, global progress towards eliminating these diseases is threatened by shifting global health priorities and declining investment in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The content collection linked below offers a snapshot of MSF’s work on managing some of the most deadly NTDs, finding better tools and models of care for highly affected populations, and advocating for greater access to care and increased global funding. Several authors describe our programs and lessons learned from a decade of treating snakebite victims in sub-Saharan Africa. Two studies evaluate shorter, less toxic treatment for visceral leischmaniasis, while a policy analysis proposes critical steps towards eliminating this horrific disease in East Africa. Last, reports from Sokoto, Nigeria describe the collaborative development of a comprehensive model of care for noma.

As the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic grips the world, one of its most devastating indirect effects is the disruption to medical services for preventing and treating other life-threatening diseases—especially in countries with already-fragile health systems. For MSF and other global health actors this means not only responding to Covid-19 directly but also assessing its impact on other essential care and then adapting programs so they can keep serving patients despite the enormous obstacles. In this Collection you will find a selection of published articles and conference content from this year’s MSF Scientific Days 2021 conference content, encompassing a range of approaches, settings and medical challenges—from malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS prevention and care to digital health promotion and sexual and reproductive health.

While Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is known mostly for providing direct medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from health services, we also conduct research aimed at improving patient care and advocating for evidence-based policy and practices. To this end we conduct hundreds of research studies each year, publish extensively in peer-reviewed journals, and present our findings at scientific conferences around the world, including several annual MSF-organized events.

With the MSF Science Portal we introduce a new platform that aims to be a « one-stop shop » for content related to this work, so that users anywhere can easily find, browse, access, share and use the knowledge our research generates. Alongside frequent updates of new publications, conference materials, reports and featured content, we will continue to develop this site and to expand its range of content. To learn more about the Portal and what it offers, check out the short videos and slide presentation in this collection.

BACKGROUND

Prognostic tools for febrile illnesses are urgently required in resource-constrained community contexts. Circulating immune and endothelial activatio...

Science Portal

Collection Content

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Neglected tropical diseases

Adapting essential care programs to Covid-19 pandemic times

MSF Science Portal

Risk stratification of childhood infection using host markers of immune and endothelial activation in Asia (Spot Sepsis): a multi-country, prospective, cohort study

War wounds caused by explosive weapons in Gaza: data from a 2024 study by Médecins Sans Frontières

Feasibility and acceptability of menstrual underwear in a conflict and population displacement prone setting of Kalehe, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Newly discovered paediatric melioidosis in Mali: the tip of an African iceberg?