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.