Doctors Without Borders’ Top 10 World Humanitarian Crises
By Michael Lang on Dec 26, 2008 in SOLVERS AND SOLUTIONS
Doctors Without Borders issued a top 10 list of humanitarian crises on Monday that included Congo, Somalia, Iraq and Sudan as well as what it called "neglected medical emergencies" in Myanmar and Zimbabwe.
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Congo
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Somalia
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Iraq
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Sudan
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The other two crises on the list were not in particular countries, but rather cross-border problems
It is interesting to see Iraq on the list because you would think that the U.S. presence along with the Bush administrations espousings that it would be in fine shape… however,sadly, it is not!
The international medical aid group, Doctors Without Borders, said its list emphasized the difficulties in bringing assistance to people affected by violence, especially highly politicized conflicts such as those in Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and Somalia.
The group said its medical teams witnessed firsthand the consequences of violence, displacement and neglected yet treatable diseases and health needs around the world.
"Many of the countries on this year’s list illustrate the ever-shrinking space for impartial humanitarian action, making it extremely difficult to deliver aid to those most affected and vulnerable," said MSF International Council President Christophe Fournier.
He said MSF had been forced to curtail its work in Somalia because of direct attacks, and aid workers helping hundreds of thousands of people
displaced by air attacks in northwest Pakistan had taken similar steps after threats and attacks.
In Myanmar and Zimbabwe, MSF blamed the governments for failing to provide adequate health care or assist aid workers.
"In Myanmar, where MSF is the main provider of HIV care, hundreds of thousands of people are needlessly dying due to a severe lack of HIV/AIDS treatment while the government does far too little to help its own people," the statement said.
Zimbabwe is battling one of the worst cholera epidemics in its history at a time of political paralysis that Western countries blame on President Robert Mugabe.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971 and is made up of 19 associative organizations.
Today, MSF provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, negligence, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need and reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols.
