Epicentre

Epicentre is an epidemiology, medical research, innovation and training group embedded in Médecins sans frontières (MSF). Our experience and presence within MSF enables us to design and carry out projects in complex, and often unstable, situations specific to humanitarian aid to meet the healthcare needs of these populations and support MSF’s public statements.
Discover its missions, history, organization, financing, activities…

WHO WE ARE?
Thursday 14 February 2019 – Updated on Tuesday 22 November 2022
Epicentre, an MSF Satellite dedicated to epidemiology and research

Accès rapide
Field epidemiology, research and training in support of MSF
A leitmotiv: easy access and innovation
Our missions
Describing, measuring, quantifying and comparing situations was the main mission of Epicentre at its creation in 1986. Today Epicentre conducts field epidemiology activities, research projects and training sessions in support of Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) goals of providing medical assistance in areas where people are suffering from conflict, epidemics, disasters or where access to care is inadequate or non-existent.
FIELD EPIDEMIOLOGY, RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SUPPORT OF MSF
Epicentre’s strength lies in its ability to rapidly apply epidemiological methods in complex situations, thanks to its permanent teams in Paris (France), Maradi (Niger), Yaoundé (Cameroon), and Mbarara (Uganda), as well as its teams of epidemiologists in MSF programs in Mali, DRC, Malawi, Chad, and South Sudan, and relocated in New York, Dubai, Dakar, Geneva, Brussels, London, and Cape Town. The research centers in Niger and Uganda provide the necessary infrastructure for a wide range of projects which, from the outset, are designed to be applied in the field for the populations concerned.

In addition, Epicentre also trains MSF staff in epidemiology and public health tools. Through its training program, it helps equip staff with the tools and knowledge needed to deal with emergencies and epidemics.
373
Full Time Equivalent

42
Nationalities

~100
projects in 2021

A LEITMOTIV: EASY ACCESS AND INNOVATION
Epicentre’s mission is

to describe and analyze the health situations of the populations assisted by medical teams in order to better orient programs,
but also to evaluate and compare new care practices to propose solutions adapted to populations living in unstable conditions or with insufficient access to care.
Its epidemiology and research activities focus on infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, cholera, Ebola, yellow fever, neglected diseases – visceral leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, Buruli ulcer – but also on chronic diseases that are on the rise in African countries such as cancer. Since its creation, Epicentre has contributed to the development of several diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic solutions.
In addition to research projects for MSF, Epicentre develops partnerships with other institutions in order to increase the impact and reach of its studies. In 2021, Epicentre is financed 2/3 by funds raised by MSF from the public and 1/3 by external donors.

Epicentre’s grounding in both research and operational activities provides key information for MSF’s program priorities, always with the goal of improving access to quality health care for populations living in unstable conditions or with inadequate access to care.

OUR HISTORY
Thursday 19 August 2021 – Updated on Tuesday 22 November 2022
Since its creationin 1986, Epicentre has conducted field epidemiology activities, research projects and training sessions in support of MSF’s goals of providing medical assistance in areas where people are suffering from conflict, epidemics, disasters or where access to care is inadequate or non-existent. Learn more about the progress that has already been made.
EPICENTRE IN A FEW DATES

1986: Creation of Epicentre on the initiative of MSF doctors trained in epidemiology in the United States.
1990: Study on pellagra, a disease caused by a lack of the vitamin B3. Recognition by the United Nations and modification of the composition of the food ration distributed to Mozambican refugees in Malawi
1991: Mortality survey in Iraqi Kurdistan
1994: Study on single-dose oily chloramphenicol as a treatment for meningitis in an epidemic situation; mortality survey among Rwandan refugees in Goma (DRC)
1997: Efficacy study of new cholera vaccines in Uganda
1998: Opening of the Research Center in Mbarara, Uganda, in the heart of the Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) and the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH). The Center works closely with the Ministry of Health and other research, academic and health sector stakeholders.
2000: Creation of the monitoring software “Follow Up Care HIV Aids (FUCHIA) for the follow-up of patients in AIDS treatment programs
2001: Evaluation of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria
2003: Studies in Niger on the effectiveness of ambulatory strategies for the treatment of malnutrition
2004: Surveys in Darfur to document violence and excess mortality among the population
2005-2009: Creation of the Epicentre research center in Maradi, following the 2005 nutritional crisis in Niger. The center was officially registered in Niger in 2009.
2006: Study on the relevance of mass vaccination in the event of a measles epidemic
2008: Conclusive results of the NECT clinical trial that simplifies the treatment of sleeping sickness
2008: Decentralization of training sessions in the field
2010: Epidemiological support to MSF’s relief interventions during the earthquake and cholera epidemic in Haiti
2012: Feasibility and effectiveness study of reactive vaccination during a cholera epidemic in the Republic of Guinea
2013: Signing of a collaboration agreement with Institut Pasteur for the development of field diagnostic tests for pediatric infectious diseases
2016: description of the epidemiological characteristics of the Cholera epidemic, including transmission factors during the epidemic, which took place in Yemen
2017 Demonstrating the efficacy of the Rotasiil vaccine – thermo-stable, easy to transport, and affordable – in preventing severe gastroenteritis in infants in Niger
2018 Monitoring the evolution of the Ebola epidemic in the DRC and the effectiveness of the response, formulating recommendations to guide decision-making that are then implemented by the follow-up unit and actions.
2020-2023: Development of a strategic plan with the objectives of increasing and diversifying expertise, consolidating positioning, particularly within MSF, and continuing to open up to other partners in order to further improve access to quality care for populations living in unstable situations
2020 : First fully online training on epidemic response (RepEpi)
2020 : Development of dashboards to describe the COVID19 epidemic and clinical forms in MSF intervention sites covering nearly 50 countries.
2020 Implementation of the Alert-CoVid-19 platform for COVID19 surveillance in Niger, which can be used for recurrent diseases such as measles and meningococcal meningitis
2021: Evidence that a partial dose of yellow fever vaccine is effective and could allow millions more people to be vaccinated in an emergency situation