Doctors Without Borders:Bringing Help To The Helpless Worldwide

Doctors Without Borders was founded in 1971. It is an international independent medical humanitarian organization delivering emergency help to people whose survival is threatened by violence, negligence or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflicts, epidemics, malnutrition, natural disasters and exclusion from health care.

Doctors Without Borders operates in more than 60 countries with an international staff of 2,000, and an additional staff of 24,000 who are local hired. The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. They function completely independently of any political, military or religious agendas and they do not take sides or intervene according to the demands of government or warring parties.

Because of its large scale logistical capacity, Doctors Without Borders is often one of the first humanitarian organizations to arrive on the front line of an emergency or a disaster. In order to maintain its financial independence Doctors Without Borders relies mainly (86.9 percent of its operating fund) on private donations from the general public for its funding. In 2008, Doctors Without Borders raised $956.9 million globally, with $151.5 million from private donors in the United States.

On occasions, Doctors  Without Borders speaks out publicly in an effort to bring a forgotten crisis to the public attention.

This is precisely the case with Katharine Derderian. She has just returned from her assignment in Congo and expresses her great concerns about the humanitarian crisis unfolding there. The media, especially in America, is not covering this much at all, but Doctors Without Borders is. To read Katharine Derderian’s interview on the current tragedy in Congo click here.