OPINIONS
OPINIONS
Volume 3, Issue 2
July 2000
Inspired by the incredible success of
the international humanitarian organization,
Medicins sans Frontiers' (Doctors without Borders), Prof. Mahmoud K. Booz
discusses
his past experiences in volunteer medicine and proposes the creation of a
community
health care service modeled after the organization. Doctors without
Borders was
recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.
COMMUNITY DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
By Prof. Mahmoud K. Booz FRCS Ed., FRCS England, FACS
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Our part of the world, namely Africa and Asia is in great need for Doctors without Borders. From personal experience for forty years as a physician, I have found that medical aid was always delayed. The delay was not for days, but, alas, was for months and sometimes for years. Help for the wounded in wars, for victims of floods, earthquakes and similar catastrophes can't wait. I have tried to provide a helping hand as an active member of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society since its birth in the early sixties. My first encounter was in Benzert, Tunisia in the summer of 1961. We arrived too late!!!
From that moment on, I found that delay was the rule for other agencies too. The Red Crescent societies in our region of the Middle East are really run and financed by their respective governments. Although they are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, yet they cannot answer an urgent call without the green light from their governments. The medical aid to Afghanistan, and to Eritrea took years to arrive. When I traveled Eritrea in July 1981, I was the first Arab to come to their rescue, and to my astonishment and delight, the (French) 'Medicins sans Frontiers' were there! The same could be said about the 1967 war in Damascus, and the 1979 war in Afghanistan. In 1986, in South Yemen, there was war between the ruling factions in Eden. We watched the civilian casualties on television. No medical aid ever arrived from its 'sister' North Yemen or any neighboring countries. Community doctors without frontiers could be the answer for this prevailing and recurring problem. To guarantee its success, two major obstacles must be addressed and overcome, the issues of independence and finance. This is the only way to act swiftly and effectively. There is no ready answer. An international, community oriented body of benevolent, gallant, experienced, high-powered brains and influential volunteers should form a "Think Tank," to transform this dream into a reality. After all its for the sake of humanity.
Prof. Booz is a distinguished traumatologist and orthopaedic surgeon. He is currently the Counselor of the Pan-Arab Orthopaedic Association. He is a strong advocate of participatory community medical services. The Ambassadors published an article about Booz Village community model in the PROFILE section of the previous issue. To read this article, click here.
Nobel Peace Prize: On October 15, 1999, Medécins Sans Frontières is awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.
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28 years on: Milestones of a humanitarian movement
20 December 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 Thailand: MSF's first big refugee programme. Teams provide assistance
to refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia. 1978 1979 1980 Uganda: feeding programme for victims of the civil war and drought.
MSF sets up its first operational centre outside France and thereby becomes an
international organisation. 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 Armenia: earthquake relief 1990 1991 Somalia: MSF sends emergency aid to the victims of the civil war.
Former Yugoslavia: MSF launches mission in the war zone. MSF awarded European
Human Rights Award and Philadelphia Liberty Medal. 1992 Bosnia-Herzegovina: MSF denounces ethnic cleansing and crimes against
humanity. 1993 Burundi: Following attempted coup d'état, vicious round of killings
begin which triggers refugee emergency. Within a few weeks, 180 MSF volunteers
are providing emergency aid to 600,000 refugees in Rwanda, Tanzania and in
Burundi itself. Nansen Medal: MSF receives Nansen medal for its work amongst the
world's refugees. 1994 Rwanda: Genocide begins. MSF takes out all but its most experienced
staff and works with the wounded in extremely difficult circumstances. MSF calls
on the International community to intervene in the genocide. One million
refugees fleeing the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA)'s advance, arrive in the
small town of Goma, Zaire. Within days, MSF collaborates on the biggest cholera
programme to date. Angola: MSF continued to work in the besieged Quito enclave. During
months of shelling, medical, surgical and nutritional assistance was provided by
the team who were working in deplorable conditions in order to bring relief to
the population of 300,000. 1995 North Korea: MSF intervenes following floods. Chechnya: During the war, MSF brings aid to the Chechen people inside
the republic and on the borders of neighbouring republics. 1996 Burundi: MSF is opposed to the numerous "regroupment" camps
to which large sections of the population have been forcibly settled. The
organisation decides to provide only essential medical assistance to the camp
dwellers, but to do nothing to set up long-term facilities in these camps. Zaire: Civil war breaks out. Rwandese refugee camps on the border
attacked by the Alliance forces who wish to root out members of the former
Rwandese army. This brings about the mass return of refugees. However, hundreds
of thousands flee to areas where there are no health-care facilities. MSF
provides assistance where possible. 1997 North Korea: MSF is one of the few international organisations to gain
access to this closed country. MSF distributes medicines to health centres and
hospitals in three provinces. Afghanistan: MSF teams continue their work. In Kabul, MSF pushes for a
reversal of a Taliban edict excluding women from emergency health care, but the
access of women to health-care remains difficult. East Africa: MSF intervenes in a cholera epidemic of an unprecedented
scale. Increased rainfall and flooding due to El Nino are likely to have been a
catalyst in the spread of cholera in a region where the rural population has
increased dramatically over the last 10 years. 1998 Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala: Over the last weekend of October a
hurricane of unprecedented force hit Central America. In total, 7,000 people
were registered dead and another 10,000 reported missing. Two million people
were estimated to be in need of immediate relief. MSF teams, already working in
the region, reinforced their aid effort by sending 100 tons of drugs and medical
material to the affected areas. 1999 Angola: the peace accords signed in 1991 and renewed in 1994 are no
longer respected. Civil war has resumed. Bringing relief to the victims of
Angola's war remains a priority for MSF. Sierra Leone: In February, an MSF surgical team returns to Freetown
after a two month absence from the capital due to widespread fighting and
insecurity. MSF has worked in several regions of Sierra Leone since the coup d'état
of May 1997. Kosovo: During NATO attacks on Serbia, MSF provided humanitarian
assistance to refugees in Albania, Macedonia and Montengro. Following the
ceasefire in June, MSF supported health structures to prepare for the return of
refugees. East Timor: Following the pro-independence vote in July 1999 and the
subsequent violence, MSF was evicted from East Timor along with all other
humanitarian organisations. MSF returned on September 23, on the first flights
to Dili. We are currently active in the country providing health care for the
displaced populations. Nobel Peace Prize: On October 15, 1999, Medécins Sans Frontières is
awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize
The beginning: A group of French doctors found Medécins Sans Frontières
(MSF), the first non-military, non-governmental organisation to specialise in
emergency medical assistance. Most of the founders have worked for the Red Cross
in Biafra between 1968 and 1970. Their aim is to rectify what they perceive as
the shortcomings of international aid: that it offers too little medical
assistance and that aid agencies are overly reticent in the face of the many
legal and administrative obstacles to the provision of effective humanitarian
relief. The founders of MSF also distinguish themselves from other aid workers
by their awareness of the role of the media in bringing the plight of population
to the attention of the general public.
Nicaragua: intervention following earthquake
Honduras: long-term mission in the wake of Hurricane Fifi
Vietnam: first mission in a war zone
Lebanon: team of 56 work in Beirut hospital during the siege
Africa: MSF works in refugee camps in the Western Sahara, Djibouti,
Sudan, and Zaire.
Thailand: MSF sends 100 volunteers to Cambodian refugee camps.
Afghanistan: MSF launches first mission.
Ethiopia: Extensive feeding programme launched for famine victims.
Ethiopia: MSF denounces diversion of humanitarian aid and forced
migration. An MSF team is expelled by the Mengistu regime.
Western Europe: MSF starts to develop socio-medical programmes in western
Europe, beginning with France.
Sudan: MSF raises the alarm to save the Dinka people from famine.
Eastern Europe: Health programmes are set up in Eastern Europe following
the collapse of the Communist bloc.
Liberia: MSF brings assistance to inaccessible areas.
The flight of the Kurds: MSF launches biggest refugee programme following
Gulf War. Teams provide assistance to Kurdish refugees in several countries.
Somalia: Civil war and famine decimate the population. MSF increases its
activity in the field and alerts international opinion.
Somalia: MSF denounces the methods of the United Nations troops in
Somalia which violate the very humanitarian principles by which they are
supposed to operate.
Bosnia: work continues during the siege of Gorazde MSF team and the
International Committee of the Red Cross are the only humanitarian presence in
the enclave.
Bosnia: MSF is the only international presence during fall of Srebrenica
enclave.
Nigeria: MSF vaccinates 4.5 million people against meningitis.
Democratic Republic of Congo: MSF fights for access to Rwandese refugees,
many of whom are massacred and die of starvation and disease. MSF issues reports
tracing the fate of the refugees and on human rights abuses suffered.
South Sudan: MSF launches emergency operations and large-scale appeal for
famine victims. From the outset, there are problems with the relief effort.
Although the famine of 1998 was foreseen, the humanitarian response from all the
aid agencies present (including MSF) was insufficient. The relief took too long
to arrive and much of it was misappropriated. Many of the most needy were
overlooked by those who controlled the food distribution.
South Sudan: MSF voices its concern that the UN relief programme
Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) has become overly institutionalised and asks for
its workings to be reviewed.
