Snakebite envenoming permanently disables hundreds of thousands of people and kills more than 100,000 each year all across the globe – more than any other World Health Organization (WHO)-designated neglected tropical disease – even though highly effective treatments exist. More than 20,000 people die from snakebites each year in sub-Saharan Africa alone. While Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) treats several thousand people free of charge in its facilities annually, most people who are bitten in sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas and receive no treatment with antivenom (the only validated treatment for the disease), or receive substandard treatment because exorbitant prices put quality treatment out of reach.

MSF has worked in Paoua, in North West CAR since 2006, in an environment marked by general lack of access to healthcare. People are frequently suffering from snakebites among other diseases. In 2017 MSF treated about 1000 people victims of snake bites envenoming. Envenoming could trigger life-threatening hematoxic, citotoxic, neurotoxic syndromes. MSF has implemented detailed data collection to better capture the use of various antovenom in Paoua context and contribute to access to safe and effective antivenoms.