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Doctors without Borders
A Presentation by Paige Ivey
Médecins sans
Frontières
MSF Basics
• Who?– Doctors, nurses, water and sanitation
specialists, epidemiologists, administrators
MSF Basics
• What?– Outpatient consuts– Vaccination– Surgery– Water sanitation– Epidemic treatment– Ready-to-use food– HIV/AIDS treatment
MSF responds to a cyclone in Bangladesh in 2007
ARV Therapy
MSF Basics
Where?
MSF Activity in 2008
In 2008 MSF sent more than 3,000 volunteers to ~80 different countries
“Médecins Sans Frontières provides assistance to populations in
distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to
victims of armed conflict. They do so irrespective of race, religion,
creed, or political convictions.”-MSF Charter
Why?
Brief History of MSF
• Created in France, 1971– Merge of two separate international aid
groups:• Groupe d’Intervention Médicale et Churgicale en
Urgence (“Emergency Medical and Surgical Intervention Group”) and Bernard Kouchner
• Secours Médical Français (“French Medical Relief”)
• Reputation exceeds impact
• 1977—Claude Malhuret elected president
More History…
• Internal strife had developed concerning Kouchner’s media tactics– 1979 conflict with Vietnamese “Boat People”– Kouchner and friends break away and form
Médecins du Monde, “Doctors of the World”
• 1980s: growth in Europe• 1990s: worldwide offices
• 1999: Nobel Peace Prize
Truly Neutral?
• From the charter:
“Médecins Sans Frontières observes neutrality and impartiality in the name of universal medical ethics and the
right to humanitarian assistance and claims full and unhindered freedom in the exercise of its functions.”
• Divided from the beginning• Tensions between Kouchner and younger
generation of doctors• MSF Speaks Out:
– 1985: Ethiopia– 1995: Serbia– 2004: Darfur
Firsthand Account
Cholera in Burundi
Effectiveness
• 2007 Finance
• Raised $161,446,238 – $152,136,404 from
contributions
• Spent – $1,739,997 administrative
expenses– $17,575,590 fundraising
expenses– $133,695,129 on MSF programs
Critics
• Only short-term positive effects• Humanitarian organizations as
political smoke screens• Impossible to anticipate the consequences of providing aid
“Aid can only mitigate the awfulness, not stop it.”
–Alex de Waal, Touched by Fire
http://www.wildfirelessons.net/uploads/Smoke_on_Fire.jpg
For More Information
• Touched by Fire: Doctors Without Borders in a Third World Crisis– By: Elliott Leyton– Photos by Greg Locke
• Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders – by: Dan Bortolotti
Bibliography
• "About Us." Medecins Sans Frontieres: Doctors Without Borders. MSF-USA Association, 2010. 15 Mar 2010. <http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/>.
• Bortolotti, Dan. Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders. 1. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2004.
• "Doctors without Borders, USA." Charity Navigator. Charity Navigatior, 2010. Web. 23 Mar 2010.< http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3628>.
• Leyton, Elliot. Touched by Fire: Doctors Without Borders in a Third World Crisis. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1998.