Issue #5
Five-Leaf Clover.
To think that it has almost been half a year since we started this newsletter from scratch is nothing short of IMPRESSIVE 🥳 - I’d say it calls for a pat on our own backs ~ Nishant and Yasir.
Starting with some unfortunately disturbing breaking news right off the bat: the UK government announcement of a significant cut to its “official development assistance” - a.k.a. foreign aid budget. This is even worse news to humanitarian voids such as Sudan and Chad in 2025.
humanitarian void → a situation that occurs in an area where there is a significant gap between need for resources and the ability to readily replenish resources
MSF is immediately calling on the UK government to reverse this change… you can help out too! Send a message to your MP on MSF’s behalf (once I was well informed of the full details of the situation, it took me <10 seconds because MSF has a pre-written email for you to send!)
Read on for an amazing monthly recap and MORE cool events coming soon! 😎
Hope you enjoy this issue!
Monthly Recap
Gig Night Fundraiser - Friday 21st February
A MASSIVE success with a surprisingly large turnout (80+ tickets) - we raised £593 in total thanks to our lovely donors and everyone who came to the event! This makes gig night one of the biggest FoMSF fundraising events of the academic year 24/25 🙌
It was a great venue choice at Canalhouse and the vibes were immaculate - giving you more of a reason to come to our next event if you couldn’t make it for this one!
Committee (left to right): Hazel, Issy, Rhea and Nishant 🔥
MSF Now
News Spotlight #1 - Mobile MSF Clinics finally allowed into Syria bring hope
For the first time in over a decade, MSF teams have gained access to East Ghouta, a region that has endured years of devastation. Once a lush and green 43-square-mile region filled with fruit trees and farms, East Ghouta is now a landscape of destruction. After opposition forces took control in 2012, Syrian government forces launched a brutal siege, cutting off food, water, and medicine while relentlessly bombarding the area.
Since January 2025, MSF teams have been traveling to cities across Syria, bringing medical care directly to the people who need it most, commonly treating respiratory infections, gastroenteritis due to food contamination and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
“In this short time, we have seen 576 patients, including 77 children under the age of five.” ~ MSF teams at East Ghouta
Healthcare should never be out of reach.
Read the full story 👉 here 👈 to find out more!
News Spotlight #2 - Poop Factory of Aboutengue 💩
Not the most glamorous topic, but when it comes to humanitarian crises, sanitation control is one of the unsung heroes. In an MSF-run dengue fever camp, dealing with medical and human waste isn’t just a side quest - it’s a full-scale operation!
Dengue fever spreads through mosquitoes, and still water stagnant water filled in latrines is an all-you-can-eat buffet for disease transmission. To stop this, MSF engineers have set up a dedicated faecal sludge treatment to neutralise harmful bacteria and capable of handling waste for more than 45,000 people!
Explanation of the process for nerds: “using a pump system, they circulate and mix lime with waste, raising the pH to 12! But wait… I thought lime is acidic? Well yes but actually no - it chemically acts as an alkaline substance when reacting with waste. An environment with a pH of 12 is too high for most bacteria and microorganisms to survive… then a simple draining and waiting process allows clean water to be filtered out!
Read the full story 👉 here 👈 to find out more!
News Spotlight #3 - 3 More Tropical Diseases You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Remember that Noma virus bonus clip you definitely watched in the last issue? Well, here’s the good, bad and ugly on 3 more neglected tropical diseases from MSF (that you’ve probably never heard of):
Visceral Leishmaniasis (kala azar, "black fever" in Hindi) - a deadly parasitic disease spread by sandflies, common in Brazil, India and East Africa (where MSF have helped for decades)! Early symptoms are mild but worsen into prolonged fever, anaemia, and severe weight loss - without treatment, it’s fatal.
The cure? A 17-day course of two injectable drugs. While timely diagnosis remains a challenge in East Africa, ongoing advocacy and MSF groundwork is making progress. 💪
Schistosomiasis 🐌 - a.k.a. snail fever, is caused by a parasite in snails living in freshwater, making people who live near lakes and rivers susceptible to the disease. Schistosomiasis is found in tropical and subtropical countries around the world, including South Sudan where MSF runs a hospital where many women and girls suffer from debilitating inflammation.
Sleeping Sickness 😴 A parasite spread by tsetse flies attacking the brain and spinal cord [CNS], leading to coma and death if untreated. Early treatments consisting of arsenic were so toxic they killed 1 in 20 patients… but some good news. In the last 25 years, cases have dropped by 97%. Thanks to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, a safe and simple oral cure is saving lives.
Read the full story 👉 here 👈 to find out more!
Story of the Month
The endTB project by MSF
A bit of a different “story” of the month this time - I’m using this section as a limelight for an ongoing international project by MSF dedicated to provide more effective treatments for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) through:
access to new drugs
two major clinical trials
advocacy at national and global levels
The MSF Science Portal is a database consisting of 4000+ and counting research multimedia including peer-reviewed journal articles, passion projects and general publications. It is completely open to public access and you should definitely check it out if you’re interested in humanitarian/MSF scientific research!
In support of just the “endTB” project, there are 45+ citable research articles and published media, all looking at different aspects of the 3 main goals through holistic assessment. For example, there have been cohort studies performed, assessment of pregnant population outcomes, evaluations of drug implications and safety, and of course, the endTB clinical results in a conference video format embed below (hail multimedia!).
Finally, if you are more interested in the endTB project - definitely click the link below and browse through existing data, but exploring the science portal in itself is something I highly recommend!
Read the full story 👉 here 👈 to find out more!
Upcoming Events
Speaker Event - TBC [INSTAGRAM]
Date → TBC
Venue → TBC
Pub Quiz Collaboration Event with Lawyers Without Borders [NEW]
More details to follow, check our Instagram!
Date → Thursday 27th March
Venue → Mooch Bar
Charity Football Tournament [NEW]
More details to follow, check our Instagram!
Date → Sunday 25th May
Venue → David Ross Sports Village
FoMSF Annual Conference 2025 - “Responding to Emergencies”
Come to the MSF UK London office to meet us and be part of the FoMSF family!
Renew friendships made in September at the training day, listen to a few of our field staff share their experiences of responding to emergencies while working for MSF and celebrate each society’s successes over the past couple of months.
The agenda for the day is currently being finalised and will reflect the theme of ‘Responding to Emergencies’.
However, we are delighted and honoured to reveal that the keynote interview will be with emergency department nurse Hanadi Katerji who will talk about her extensive work in Gaza over the past year. Recently returned in January having completed her third assignment for MSF there, she will provide personal insights into the conflict, and the emergency care she witnessed. Hanadi has also worked with MSF in Bangladesh, Sudan and Afghanistan.
There will also be a host of workshops to choose from, an HR session on everything you need to know about working for MSF, and presentations from YOU on what you’ve been up to so far this year! We will share the finalised agenda with you very soon!
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION → Register 👉 HERE 👈 by Friday 14th March!
It will also be streamed online but it would be much better if you could make it in person for not just networking but also to improve overall interactivity of the conference!
Date → Saturday 22nd March, 09:30-17:30
Venue → MSF UK office, Level 5, Artesian, 9 Prescot Street, London E1 8AZ + hybrid (also online if you register for the conference!)
Non-UoN FoMSF Events - Wanna Get Even More Involved?
MSF Scientific Days Conference
I attended this last year with some others from the committee and the amount of work that was showcased by not only MSF but in the field of humanitarian medicine was nothing short of awe-inspiring 🤩.
As FoMSF themselves put it, “the event brings together researchers, innovators, and advocates in humanitarian global health to discuss and challenge research from within the sector” ⛑️.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, definitely sign up for updates HERE. Oh yeah, and it’s completely FREE. Hope to see you guys there!
Date → Thursday, 22nd May, All-Day
Venue → London (exact location TBD) + online
Socials
Remember, “independence, neutrality and impartiality” ~ Nishant and Yasir
See you in the next one! 🩺