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Doctors Without Borders Research Paper

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Doctors Without Borders was founded in 1971 by a group of 12 French doctors. The doctors worked with the Red Cross providing medical aid during the Nigerian civil war in Biafra. These doctors witnessed the starvation of many civilians, and they were seeing the Nigerian government commit genocide against its people. But the Red Cross had a policy to remain silent about what it witnessed in the field and required its volunteers to sign a contract saying they would obey the policy. It was this policy, as well as the inability to intervene without approval from the country’s government, that caused these doctors to deem the Red Cross obsolete. These doctors sought an alternative: a humanitarian aid organization that would provide medical relief …show more content…

Their first projects took place after the earthquake in Nicaragua in 1972 and in Honduras during the aftermath of Hurricane Fifi in 1974. Throughout these first few years the organization was still slow to react and dependent on cooperation with other organizations to bring aid to those who needed it. They sent three medical teams to Managua, Nicaragua in 1972, but these teams were disorganized and inefficient. MSF fell short of its goal to be first on the scene when they arrived 3 days after the relief effort from the Red Cross had already been set up. The project in Honduras two years later also required cooperation with other aid organizations and did not exemplify the quick response and efficiency that has come to be expected of MSF. In 1975 MSF participated in its first war zone mission in Vietnam and provided medical care to Cambodians as they fled the Khmer Rouge, making this its first large scale intervention in a refugee crisis. MSF established itself as a serious humanitarian aid organization and made an international name for itself in 1976 with its major war mission to Beirut. Because of the danger associated with the conflict between the different religious groups as well as Israeli and Syrian factions, this is where the teams learned the importance of neutrality. MSF stayed in Lebanon until they were …show more content…

Through longer-term programs, Doctors Without Borders has been able to treat chronic diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS. Aiding needy populations and bringing health care to remote, isolated areas where resources and training are limited is one of their most distinguishing characteristics. In order to provide their services, they have over 15,000 member staff and more than 2,000 doctors, nurses, and other medical

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