Over the span of three years (1967-1970), a civil war raged in Nigeria. When it was over, nearly three million people were dead, and many more were suffering from the effects of hunger and poor sanitation. In response to the crisis – and the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which killed at least 625,000 in Bangladesh – a small group of French doctors and journalists formed Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 1971. The idea for the organization was the belief that all persons deserved medical care regardless of race, religion, creed, or political affiliation, no matter where they were located.
In 1990, MSF opened an office in the United States in New York. In the U.S., the organization is more commonly referred to by its English name, Doctors Without Borders.
Today, Doctors Without Borders provides emergency medical care to millions of people caught in crises in more than 60 countries around the world. Under their umbrella, on any given day, more than 22,000 doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, administrators, and other qualified professionals can be found providing medical care around the world.
In 2009, teams from Doctors Without Borders carried out more than 7.5 million outpatient consultations; delivered 110,000 babies; treated 1.1 million people for malaria; treated 200,000 severely and moderately malnourished children; provided 165,000 people living with HIV/AIDS with antiretroviral therapy; vaccinated 7.9 million people against meningitis; and conducted 50,000 surgeries. Teams have also provided medical care to people caught in war zones including those injured by gunfire, knife or machete wounds, bombings, beatings, or sexual violence.
In 2010, Doctors Without Borders reacted to the earthquake that devastated Haiti; the quake killed more than 200,000 people left more than a million homeless. Over the course of the year, Doctors Without Borders treated nearly 360,000 people who were displaced or injured.
Each year, the organization sends trained professionals into those areas of the world that need them most, no matter where that might be. For 2012, that includes locations in war areas like the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor.
How can you help? If you want to be on the front line, Doctors Without Borders recruits medical, administrative, and logistical support personnel to provide medical care to people all over the world. Additionally, the organization is always in need of staff, interns, and volunteers to help with the general running of the office. You can find out more about upcoming recruitment events.
There are a number of ways to help out financially. You can make a cash donation; the organization also accepts gifts of stock. And if you are a federal employee or retiree, you can support Doctors Without Borders through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Planned giving options, including those through wills and trusts, are also encouraged.
A search at irs.gov (which I highly recommend any time you are considering making a donation to a charity) reveals that Doctors Without Borders is on the IRS list of charitable organizations. To find out more about the work of the organization, check out their website, follow them on twitter or like them on Facebook. A number of the aid workers also have blogs; you can find a list of some of those here.
