Doctors Without Borders - People Who Care
As the headlines continue to break highlighting natural disasters in Myanmar and in China, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is taking action to help aid in the relief efforts. MSF is an organization that brings aid and hospitality to the most desperate countries and continents. With these past weeks being the most crucial in devastation to the thousands killed by the earthquake in China and the Cyclone in Myanmar, MSF is attending to the victims in both regions.
On May 13th, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake killed a reported 32,000 and left approximately 5 million homeless in China's southwestern Sichuan province, according to estimates from the Chinese government. A total of 34 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team members are in the affected region and have been carrying out assessments, providing surgical and basic medical care, as well as mental health services, and donating tents and medicines to the relief effort. The local, regional, and national response has been enormous, but some of the needs, especially in the area of shelter, remain.
There is still a large amount of work to be done, mainly in shelter and reconstruction, according to Tony Marchant, MSF emergency coordinator in Chengdu, China, and, he says, MSF will continue to look into the need for follow-up treatment for those injured in the earthquake. "The psychological impact of surviving such a disaster may also not come to the surface until long after the event itself," said Marchant. On Friday, May 23, a convoy of ten trucks carrying 2,050 large family tents arrived in Deyang and is being directed, in close collaboration with the Chinese Red Cross, to Mianzhu and other areas most-affected by the earthquake. MSF has now donated 3,800 large family tents worth some 1,069,281 Euros, including transport costs. Two cargo flights carrying 1,750 tents arrived last weekend and were distributed in the affected region and damaged health care facilities in Guanghan and Hanwang with the help of the Sichuan Red Cross and dozens of volunteers.
Another tragedy equally as devastating as the earthquake in China occurred in Myanmar on May 2nd, when a cyclone traumatized that country and its surrounding areas. According to MSF, first assessments showed that 80 percent of buildings had been destroyed and some parts of the region were severely flooded in the Daala and Twantey zones, south of Yangon and home to 300,000 people.
Hugues Robert, Head of MSF emergency operations in Geneva, said in a May 9th statement, "We've seen the scale of the destruction and the suffering is huge. But we will not be able to address these urgent needs without the necessary additional supplies and the arrival of more experienced emergency staff, particularly experts in water and sanitation." MSF teams are using two boats to reach the most affected areas in the south-west tip of the Irrawady Delta, mainly in Haigyi, Tongwa, and Pyinsalu, where 95% of homes are destroyed. So far, nine truckloads of supplies have gone to Bassein, including 14,000 pieces of plastic sheeting, 62 tons of rice, as well as oil, fish and therapeutic food. MSF is providing the tools and relief needed to save lives.
In emergencies and their aftermath, MSF provides essential health care, rehabilitates and runs hospitals and clinics, performs surgery, battles epidemics, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished children, and offers mental health care. When needed, MSF also constructs wells and dispenses clean drinking water, and provides shelter materials like blankets and plastic sheeting.Through longer-term programs, MSF treats patients with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, and HIV/AIDS, and provides medical and psychological care to marginalized groups such as street children. As a private nonprofit association, MSF is an international network with sections in 19 countries.
Custom-designed by MSF for specific field situations, geographic conditions, and climates, a kit may contain a complete operating room, for example, or all of the supplies needed to treat hundreds of cholera patients. MSF kits and medical protocols have been replicated by relief organizations worldwide.
MSF has proven expertise in the field of epidemiology and is often called on to monitor, diagnose, and control outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera, meningitis, and measles. With the severities of these outbreaks and the necessity of relief, MSF is always one of the first organizations on site offering aid. It is significant that we help in educating society about organizations such as MSF and the like.
Famous faces have equally participated, using their celebrity for promoting the good efforts of MSF in fundraising. Those recognized are: Angelina Jolie, Placido Domingo, Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Seth Green and Morgan Fairchild.
