MSF Recognized for Combatting Cholera Outbreak

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), widely recognized as Doctors Without Borders, played a vital role in mitigating the devastating effects of a cholera outbreak in Kilwa District, Lindi Region, during the summer of 2024.

Ester Mtinangi, a Nursing Team Supervisor with MSF, shared her firsthand experience managing the crisis, which overwhelmed Nanjilinji Health Center as cholera cases surged. Ester, who had been with MSF since 2022, described the scale of the outbreak and MSF’s lifesaving interventions.

Between July and August 2024, the cholera outbreak brought the Nanjirinji Health Center to its knees, with the facility receiving up to 44 new patients weekly. “The health center was utterly overwhelmed. We were quickly running out of beds and had to place two patients in one bed to accommodate the influx,” said Ester.

She described the dire situation, where most patients, especially children under five, suffered from severe dehydration and rapidly declining blood sugar levels due to continuous vomiting and diarrhoea. Without immediate treatment, the fatality risk would have been exceptionally high.

MSF’s response was indispensable. “When local resources were stretched thin, MSF stepped in with critical medical supplies and additional personnel,” Ester explained. She credited the organization with saving many lives by filling essential gaps in care. She vividly recalled one particularly challenging case: a young child suffering from severe dehydration, vomiting, and respiratory distress. “The situation seemed hopeless, but through the tireless efforts of the MSF doctors, the child survived,” Ester recounted.

The gratitude of patients was palpable. Asha Abdalah, one of the many treated during the outbreak, expressed her heartfelt relief, saying, “I was so ill, I thought my life was over. I had lost all hope, but the doctors acted so quickly. Their care saved my life, and today, I can smile again and look forward to the future.”

Similarly, Hamisi Mashaka, another patient who was severely affected, shared his emotional experience: “When I was taken to the health center, I truly thought it was the end for me.

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I had never felt so weak and helpless. But the MSF doctors never gave up on me. They worked tirelessly, and thanks to them, I am alive today. I owe them my life, and I will always be grateful.”

Ester underscored the significance of MSF’s intervention, emphasizing that their assistance was crucial in averting further loss of life, particularly among vulnerable children. The organization’s swift and coordinated response to the crisis demonstrated its invaluable role in global health emergencies, ensuring that lives were saved when the stakes were at their highest.