Doctors Without Borders

© Kadir van Lohuizen

Four hundred people were waiting to see a doctor in a tiny village in the middle of Africa when one of them said that he thought he could hear a car approaching. Within seconds all of them rose up and ran into the bush, leaving the doctors and nurses standing alone, stunned.

Those doctors and nurses were running a mobile clinic for the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (also known as Doctors Without Borders) in the Central African Republic (CAR), an often forgotten country with a population of around four and a half million, the same as Ireland.

The villagers had fled at the sound of the car because they were terrified that gunmen, or even their own government troops, were coming to kill them or burn down their village. CAR  is one of the least developed countries in the world, and since 2005 fighting between government and rebel troops has led to large scale displacement of people.

In the Central African Republic MSF is providing a variety of medical services through a network of hospitals, health centers and mobile clinics. More than 385,000 outpatient consultations were conducted in 2008 and more than 14,800 patients were hospitalised. CAR also has a very high mother and child mortality rates. In response, MSF projects provided 30,000 antenatal consultations and assisted at more than 5,000 deliveries.

Many villages have been looted or burned, forcing their inhabitants to flee. Much of the population continues to live exposed to the elements, in constant fear of attack and with little or no access to healthcare. People struggle to find food and are particularly vulnerable to malaria, respiratory infections, and diarrhoeal diseases.

MSF is an international medical humanitarian organisation that provides independent medical assistance in over 65 countries worldwide. Many of the countries in which MSF works are similar situations as CAR, remaining outside of the media spotlight. Their staff provide services to people whose terrible living conditions have been largely forgotten by the rest of the world. Where there is conflict, MSF remains independent in order to make sure that it can give medical aid where it is most needed.

Around 3,000 volunteer doctors, surgeons, nurses, engineers and administrators work for MSF around the world with thousands of local staff, often living in difficult conditions in remote areas. One such volunteer is Dr Simon Collins, a Dublin GP, who has worked in Congo-Brazzaville, Darfur, the Sudan, and Central Africa Republic. He has recently flown to Haiti to join the MSF teams on the ground who have been treating survivors of the earthquake that hit on 12^thJanuary. Because MSF had staff working in Haiti before the quake, the teams were able to start treating survivors 25 minutes after the disaster.  Within days MSF had flown in an inflatable hospital which has 100 beds and two operating theatres. The nine tents cover a school football pitch and have their own electricity generators and water supply. The doctors and surgeons are able to work around the clock doing what the charity is there for: treating the injured and helping the community to get back on its feet.

MSF has offices in 19 countries, including Ireland, and is operating in about 65 countries. In 1999, in recognition of its “pioneering humanitarian work,” MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For more information, please go to: www.msf.ie or become a fan on Facebook www.facebook.com/msfireland