Doctors Without Borders Case Study

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How Globalization Has Affected Doctors Without Borders (is the title okay?) Doctors Without Borders (MSF: short for original name Medecins Sans Frontieres) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO), meaning that it is independent from states and governments. The organization is focused on humanitarian aid, and was founded on the principle that aid should be available where the patients are, and not be hindered by borders. Another important principal the organization is based on is that the patients’ needs are prioritized over political and religious concerns. MSF is highly internationally recognized, and was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Price in 1999 for being a pioneering humanitarian organization. In this article, I …show more content…

Six years after Nigeria gained independence from Great Britain in 1960, the Muslim Hausas in northern Nigeria began massacring the Christian Igbos who lived in the same area. This lead to the Igbos fleeing to the east, where they were the dominant ethnic group. On May 30 1967, an Igbo lieutenant a non-Igbo representatives established the Republic of Biafra. To stop the secession of the Biafran region, the Nigerian government responded with harsh military power and destruction of Biafran agricultural areas. As a result of increasing globalization, the horrible images from the war was broadcast on television in many parts of the world. This was one of the very first times images of young children dying of famine had been broadcasted in the media, and it made a great impression on many people. The French Red Cross urged volunteers to go to Nigeria and help. French doctors Max Recamier and Bernard Kouchner, as well as two clinicians and two nurses, traveled with The International Committee of the Red Cross to help the victims of the conflict. In 1971, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) was founded by a group of French doctors. Globalization has caused the organization to go from being constituted of only French doctors to recruiting members from all over the world because states are more interconnected. MSF operates in …show more content…

This means that they have more competence and capacity to help. The way they work is affected by the fact that MSF now is an NGO with offices around the world. Before they start a new project in a new location, they need to be alerted of the situation, and send a team to evaluate the circumstances. When a crisis occurs somewhere, MSF are alerted by local MSF teams, local government, other humanitarian organizations, and local or national NGOs. The growth of the internet and social media has made information more accessible globally, and this means that MSF can be alerted almost immediately after a crisis happens. In Haiti for example, MSF was in the field minutes after the earthquake in 2010 because they make sure to have emergency surgical kits ready at all