Paula Gil Leyva has dedicated twenty years to collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). She has led the Spanish department since October 2021. She holds a nursing degree, pre-hospital emergency care training, and a master’s degree in gender and equality. Gil Leyva attended Oviedo for the presentation of the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, connected to the Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), a project originally supported by MSF in 2003. Gil Leyva has worked in Angola, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and Sierra Leone, among other locations.
Are you happy with the Princess Award from the Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative?
The sentiment is strong. The organization helps to uplift extremely vulnerable people in areas with scarce resources. It also demonstrates to the world that there is an approach to innovation and saving lives that goes beyond profit-driven pharmaceutical interests, prioritizing research focused on the people who suffer most.
Sometimes small investments can benefit many people…
In many cases, the issue goes beyond economics; it hinges on political will. The leaders with the power to improve lives are the decision-makers. Often, those decisions favor dynamics that neglect neglected diseases and direct research toward conditions common in wealthier countries.
Do you see more responsibility in politicians or in laboratories?
Everything is interconnected. When the global push to develop a vaccine during Covid emerged, it showed that political commitment can drive rapid action. Without political will, commercial momentum in other groups won’t follow.
There is talk of releasing research patents…
The organization has long supported patent issuance while recognizing that parallel research can lead to new treatments. The Covid experience highlighted that Nordic countries avoided patent restrictions and helped ensure vaccine doses were distributed more widely. This served as a brief global perspective from a public health standpoint.
Some voices object that direct publication of patents could deter research…
The claim that such a measure would slow innovation reflects a North-South bias. Patents are not a perfect solution, but they prompt reflection on incentives for the pharmaceutical industry to balance economy and health. If decisions are driven solely by commercial interests, drugs for neglected diseases may never reach those in need. Change requires mobilizing civil society, engaged sectors, responsible companies, humanitarian groups, and supportive political actors. The Princess of Asturias award underscores this reality.
Which neglected diseases are particularly damaging to you?
All of them cause significant harm: Pediatric AIDS, tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, malaria. These challenges occur alongside conflicts, displacement, and other crises. Each disease affects thousands or millions, and the pain it brings is immeasurable. For years, the author has encountered AIDS patients in Mozambique and has witnessed the devastating impact on children.
Which news did you get it from? Loop? Do you know anything directly from your colleagues?
Doctors Without Borders has operated in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank, for years. Operations included hospitals in northern Gaza, and when Israel announced an evacuation, international teams moved south for safety. Around 300 national staff members and their families sought refuge in the south, with continued support despite ongoing difficulties. A group of national staff chose to remain in northern hospitals, particularly Shifa Hospital.
How are you?
The report from the ground details a disaster scenario. A hospital in the north was overwhelmed, thousands of civilians sought shelter, and pain relief and essential medicines were scarce. Emergency surgeries proceeded without anesthesia, and chronic conditions, newborns, dialysis patients, and expectant mothers faced dire needs. Water and basic hygiene were severely limited, and Al-Awda Hospital, also in the north, had to be evacuated within hours, followed by an attack on the evacuated site. There remains no safe place.
What does Doctors Without Borders demand?
There is a call for more assistance. Supplies in the Gaza Strip are exhausted, border closures impede deliveries, and teams wait for access to bring in relief. The aim is to establish safe havens within Gaza and to halt the blockade and siege, which are described as inhumane. Since the conflict began on October 7, data from the World Health Organization notes numerous attacks on hospitals, health centers, ambulances, and healthcare workers. The goal is secure access for humanitarian aid and the creation of safe routes.
So what’s going on in Ukraine?
Conflicts persist in Ukraine as well as Sudan, Yemen, Niger, and Mali, among others that frequently receive less media attention. Winter looms, and the toll on healthcare facilities remains high. Ukraine faced the most health facility attacks last year, and repeated assaults on medical sites continue in places like Sudan. The need to safeguard medical missions remains urgent and ongoing.
Sometimes we talk about unintentional accidents…
The reality is more nuanced than it appears. Coordinates of hospitals are commonly known, and bombing a health facility, an ambulance, or a refuge area is not a random event. It is a deliberate violation of humanitarian norms.