Dear friend,

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is very concerned about how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect people in countries with already fragile health systems and vulnerable communities worldwide. In many of the places where we work, there is limited capacity to respond to an influx of patients with a new disease that may require intensive care.

Given the size of this pandemic, it is clear that health care workers and patients need additional support and care. MSF’s ability to respond on the scale required will be limited, however we have started operations or offered support in the following places:

• In Italy, the second most affected country after China, MSF has begun supporting four hospitals at the epicenter of the outbreak. Teams are supporting infection control as well as patient care.

• In Hong Kong, teams are providing health education and mental health support for vulnerable groups.

• In Greece, teams are in contact with the National Public Health Organization to coordinate actions, including health information and case management for local residents and asylum seekers. MSF has also called for the evacuation of the refugee camps in the Greek islands.

MSF teams are also preparing for potential cases of COVID-19 in our projects. Protecting patients and health care workers affected by the pandemic is essential. We need to ensure that infection prevention and control measures are in place, which includes setting up appropriate triage, maintaining isolation areas, and providing health education.

Our key priority is to keep our regular medical programs running for the tens of thousands of patients and extremely vulnerable communities we help support around the world. These programs are impacted by the current travel restrictions, which limit our ability to move staff between countries. In most countries where MSF works, we are coordinating with the WHO and the respective Ministries of Health to see how MSF could contribute in case of a high load of COVID-19 patients. Additionally, we are providing training on infection control for health facilities.

We also seek to ensure that the medical tools urgently needed to respond to COVID-19 are accessible, affordable, and available.

We know from our experience that an essential component in outbreak control is trust in the health authorities and in the response. Clear, timely, measured, and honest communication and guidance are necessary. People must be empowered to protect themselves and each other.

You can read more about our response and the steps you can take to protect yourself and your community at doctorswithoutborders.org.

Sincerely,

Avril Benoît
Executive Director
Doctors Without Borders USA