Heroes for Today - Doctors Without Borders

“The patients who come to us usually have chronic, non-healing, war-related fractures… the consequences of which affect either their mobility, their ability to work, or, in the case of their hands or arms, their ability to feed and wash themselves…” Dr. Nikki Blackwell, quoted in the Winter 2008 issue of Alert. Dr. Blackwell is an anesthesiologist working on a surgical project for Iraqi civilians in Mehran, Iran, with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. It “provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care or natural disasters.” In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Says MSF Executive Director, Nicolas de Torrente, PhD, about the people the organization serves:

“Whether it is civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo fleeing horrific and never-ending violence, forced to relocate over and over again in ever more desperate conditions; families in Haiti rebuilding their devastated lives after a string of storms and massive flooding; or people in South Africa seeking treatment for the deadly co-infection of HIV/AIDS and TB, we see through our daily work that millions of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances around the world are showing remarkable strength, courage, generosity, and resilience in the                                         face of almost insurmountable odds.”

Recent activities of Doctors Without Borders include:

The Gaza Strip — On January 26 MSF sent medical teams to carry out specialized surgical procedures in inflatable medical structures they erected in Gaza City. They recognized a need for secondary and specialized surgeries for people injured in the intense fighting. During the three weeks of fighting, hospital staff carried almost to 500 interventions; 40% required amputations.

The Galgaduud Region of Somalia — A new surge in fighting in central Somalia in January led to many casualties. Thousands were forced to flee. Following heavy fighting between two groups on January 11, Somali medical teams of MSF treated 46 casualties at Istarlin hospital in Guri El.

Zimbabwe — An Epidemic of Cholera Cases has continued to spread in rural areas of Zimbabwe where some 207 new admissions to a cholera treatment center near the capital were received in a 24-hour period on January 21. The MSF team is concerned because they have outstripped their capacity. They are looking for new sites for additional treatment centers.

To learn more about Doctors Without Borders please see http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

Join us for a screening of :                “Taxi to the Dark Side"

    The story of an Afghani taxi driver provides the framework for an in-depth look at torture practices of the USA.

Friday, February 20, 2009 - 7:00 – 9:30 PM in MLK Jr. Hall

 

Plus NJ Peace Action's work with September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

2/15/09 Issue 7