MSF has been working in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia since 1997. Activities started in the hospital in the town of Humera. The focus of MSF in the region is the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of kala azar and snakebite - two neglected tropical diseases. The Abdurafi project was opened in 2003, while activities in Humera were being phased out.
Snakebite envenoming is overwhelmingly an affliction of the rural poor in agricultural and herding communities and kills more people than any other Neglected Tropical Disease. They kill at least 40 times more people worldwide each year than landmines and leave at least 60 times more people with severe and permanent disabilities.
In Abdurafi MSF mostly treats migrant workers, who work barefoot on the vast farms during harvest season in one of the most fertile regions in northern Ethiopia. Our team treats the impact of snakebite envenoming on the victims and witnesses the devastating effect on the families and communities. The vast majority are unable to access affordable and effective treatment.In 2017, MSF treated 609 patients in different projects in Ethiopia, 322 of them from Abdurafi. In 2018 the number has increased, by the end of October MSF treated 555 patients only in Abdurafi. Without registration of snakebites in Ethiopia health facilities, it is impossible to know the national health burden of snakebites. A variety of challenges is high prices for anti-venoms, the unavailability of effective anti-venom in remote places when urgently needed, and a lack of skilled healthcare workers. At peak harvest time often, more than 20 snakebite patients are at once cared for in the MSF clinic.
MSF also treats kala azar, a parasitical disease transmitted by the sandfly. kala azar is endemic and deadly especially in the northern part of Ethiopia. MSF is providing up to date screening and treatment for complicated kala azar co-infected patients with HIV/AIDS and/or TB. Since October 2017, MSF is also conducting research on the prevalence and incidence of kala azar in HIV patients, with the aim of developing better prevention methods. The supposed duration of the study is 4 years. A second research is about to start beginning of 2019 testing new kala azar drugs – less painful, with fewer side effects and higher efficacy, in partnership with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).