Poland
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) supports a programme for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Poland. We also assist migrants and refugees stranded at the border with Belarus.
Since 2022, MSF has been supporting a pilot DR-TB treatment programme in the capital, Warsaw, run by the Ministry of Health, coordinated by the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, and supported by the World Health Organization. The programme is designed to deliver a new outpatient model of care for DR-TB in Poland. Our teams support in case finding and referring patients to appropriate TB care, as well as undertaking capacity-building activities with Ministry of Health staff.
Our teams also ensure continuity of treatment for Ukrainian refugees with TB, by linking them to medical facilities and offering psychological and social support.
In Podlasie region, near the border with Belarus, we continue to assist people attempting to cross between the two countries. As well as providing basic medical care through mobile teams in remote locations, we organise emergency referrals and follow-up, in close cooperation with other organisations and civil society groups. We also organised training for them in topics such as basic first aid, and how to manage conditions like hypothermia and trench foot (damage to the feet caused by dampness for prolonged periods of time).
In addition, our teams in Poland offer logistical support to our medical humanitarian operations in Ukraine.